Chinese porcelain : sixteenth-century coloured illustrations with Chinese ms. text

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CHINESE PORCELAIN

SIXTEENTH-CENTURY COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
WITH CHINESE MS. TEXT

BY

HSIANG YUAN-P'IEN

TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED

BY

STEPHEN W. BUSHELL, C.M.G., M.D.

LATE PHYSICIAN TO H.M. LEGATION, PEKING

EIGHTY-THREE COLOURED PLATES

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1908

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK AND TORONTO

Ix the romanization of Chinese characters Sir Thomas Wade's scheme of orthography has
been followed here. It is the system of transliteration which has been adopted by Professor
Giles in his large Chinese Dictionary, and by Mr. Goodrich in his invaluable Pocket Dictionary
and Peking Syllabary, and it is now very generally accepted by Chinese scholars.

The consonants are generally to be pronounced as in English, with the exception of/ which
is nearly the ¥r&nc\\j mjaimc, the English s m fusion or s in brazier. The initials ch, k,p, t, ts,
tz, are either unaspirated or aspirated. When aspirated, the aspirate which intervenes between
them and the vowel following is indicated by an apostrophe in preference to an h, lest the English
reader should pronounce ph as in triumph, th as in month, and so on. To pronounce clia, drop
the italicized letters in 7nuch-ha.rm, for fa, drop the italics in hit-hard. The initial hs, where
a slight aspirant precedes and modifies the sibilant, is a peculiar sound of the Peking mandarin
dialect which can only be acquired by practice.

The vowels and diphthongs are to be pronounced as in Italian, in accordance with the
following table.

Vowel Symbols. Webster's System.

a d

e e

e e

i i-e

ih t

0 6

u u
u

it i or u

English Value.
a as m father,
e as \x\yet.
e as in fern,
i as in marine,
i as in pin.
o as in loi-d.
u as in prime.
ft as in German Miinchcn.
between i in bit and u in shut.

The last vowel sound it, which only occurs with the initials ss, tz, tz, has no equivalent in
English. In the diphthongal sounds each of the vowels should be separatel}' pronounced in the
Italian fashion ; thus, ai, nearly our aye, is better represented by the Italian di, in hdi, amdi; ia,
by the Italian ia \n piazza ; ie is pronounced as in the Italian siesta, niente, &c. In speaking, the
words of the limited vocabulary of about five hundred monosyllabic sounds are differentiated
into four tones, or musical intonations, but these may be disregarded in writing, although
all-important colloquially.

INTRODUCTION

The illustrated manuscript catalogue reproduced in the following pages, the
work of a celebrated Chinese connoisseur of the sixteenth century of our era, came
into my possession more than twenty years ago. The original, bound in the
ordinary Chinese fashion in four volumes between rosewood boards, was shown at
the time to the Peking Oriental Society, and excited much interest. It was described
in a paper read before the Society,' and subsequently prepared for publication and
brought to England for the purpose. But the valuable Chinese album, together
with my own poor notes on the subject, was burned up in the disastrous fire at
Whiteley's Repository in 1887. It only remains for me to state, in a few words,
how, by a happy chance, the loss has not been altogether irretrievable.

The album, before it was brought to my notice, had been taken to His Excellency
M. von Brandt, a well-known authority on Far Eastern subjects, who was then
German Minister at Peking. Recognizing its importance as a document in the
history of Chinese ceramic art, Herr von Brandt, although he declined to bu}^ it
outright, commissioned a Chinese artist named Li Teng-yuan to make a careful copy
of it. The said Chinese artist, a protege of the Lazarist Fathers at Peking, made at
the same time a duplicate copy for his own use, with illustrations and text complete,
and has since, doubtless, executed many another for European and American
collectors, as well as for his native clientele. I was fortunate in being able to secure
from him the present copy on my return to Peking, which was executed, as the
artist notes in the preface (p. 34), in the 15th year (a. d. 1888) of the reigning
emperor Kuang Hsu. My friend Captain F. Brinkley must also have acquired
a copy from the same source, to supply eleven of the coloured illustrations to his
learned disquisition on the ' keramic art of China'.- Our clever and versatile
Chinese artist is the author, as well, of most of the quaint illustrations in
Monseigneur A. F'avier's attractive work on Peking,-' several of which he has
evidently culled, although unacknowledged, from the old porcelain album.

I have learned so much myself from the water-colour pictures of the old artist
Hsiang Yuan-p'ien, and from his current descriptions of the pieces figured by him in

' 'Chinese Porcelain before the Present Dy- 1903-4 (vol. ix).

nasty,' by S. W. Bushell, M.D. (Extract from ' Peking, Histoire et Description, par Alph.

ih^t Journal of the Peking Oriental Society). Peking, Favier. Peking, Imprimerie des Lazaristes au

Pei-t'ang Press, 1886. Pe-t'ang, 1897.

^ Japan and China, in 12 volumes. London,

6 CHINESE PORCELAIN

his book, that I am convinced that no apology is needed for introducing the worthy
virtuoso to a wider circle of admirers. His soft colours were faded, it is true, but
their restoration has been materially aided by many details in the descriptive
passages, although these occasionally strike one as almost too enthusiastic in their
tone. Some of the tones, at first sight, may shock one's preconceived notions, but
further research has generally established their high probability, until there seems
no room left for cavil. The many requests that I have received, in print and in
writing, to fulfil an old promise to publish the work in its entirety, embolden me to
hope for a favourable reception. To the courteous writer of one, Mr. C. F. Bell,
of the Ashmolean Museum, I am very much indebted for securing its appearance
under such favourable auspices from the Clarendon Press.

The album, in four volumes, was brought to me in Peking by a curio dealer
from the library of the palace of the hereditary Princes of Yi. This palace was
famous for its collections of ancient bronzes and porcelain, which were being
dispersed at the time, as the fortune of the family was at a low ebb, and they
were also the source of the peach-bloom and crushed-strawberry vases which
created such a furore in the United States about this time.^ The founder of this
hereditary line of princes was Yun-hsiang, the thirteenth son of the emperor K'ang
Hsi, who was born in 1686, and died in the eighth year, 1730, of the reign of
his brother Yung Cheng. T'ang Ying, the celebrated director of the imperial
potteries at Ching-te-chen, refers to this prince as having personally conveyed
to himself the emperor's commands before he (T'ang Ying) started to take up
the duties of his new post in the year 1723,- so that we may gather that the
prince took a personal interest in the development of the ceramic art. After
Yun-hsiang's death the hereditary rank of imperial prince (Ch'in Wang) was
conferred upon his descendants, a unique honour, as it is the rule in China for
each succeeding generation of the imperial blood to descend one step in the scale
of nobility till they become commoners, except for the privilege of wearing yellow
girdles. His lineal descendant in the fifth generation was the notorious Prince of
Yi named Tsai Yuan, to whom the empress-regent sent a silken cord in 1861, so
that he might expiate by his suicide his mismanagement of the Anglo-French war
with China. As an additional punishment his sons were passed over and the
princedom was conferred upon a distant scion of the house, in consideration of the
services of his ancestors. The new prince is reported to have taken to dissipated
ways since he grew up, and to have squandered the ancestral treasures and
collections under his control.

But it is time to proceed to a short analysis of the contents of the album. The
title is L'l taiming tzu tUi p'u [Illustrated Description of Celebrated Porcelain of Different

^ Cf. Catalogue of the Art Collection formed by graphy of the province of Kiangsi, book cxiii,

the late Mrs. Mary f Morgan, New York, 1886. fol. 10.

' Cf. Chiang-hsi t'ling chili, the official topo-

INTRODUCTION 7

Dynasties). It contains altogether figures of eighty-three pieces selected by the
author, as he tells us, from his own collection, and from the collections of his
friends, to illustrate the various ceramic productions of China that were most
highly appreciated at the time he wrotd, which was more than three hundred
years ago. The eighty-three pieces, classified by him in order according to the
use they were intended to serve, are somewhat arbitrarily arranged in ten sections,
each section being provided with a table of contents, containing the several
headings attached to the individual pieces. The figures, drawn generally of the
exact size of the original, unless it be stated otherwise in the description, were all
coloured by hand in the characteristically soft water-colours of the period. The
author Hsiang Yuan-p'ien indeed was an artist as well as a writer. His name
appears in the imperial cyclopaedia of celebrated calligraphists and painters,' under
both categories. A short biography in Book XLIII, fol. 27, 28, says : ' Hsiang
Yuan-p'ien, styled Tzu-ching, a native of Tsui-li (an ancient name of Chia-ho, now
Chia-hsing-fu, in the province of Chekiang), was fond of collecting rubbings from
ancient inscriptions on stone and metal, as well as paintings of famous artists.'
His literary title was Mo lin clii't sliih, i.e. 'retired scholar of Mo-lin.' In Book
LVII, fol. 8, of the cyclopaedia, his name is given again among the artists of the
Ming dynasty, and he is characterized as a clever painter of landscapes with old
trees, as well as of the flowering plum and of orchids. He flourished in the second
half of the sixteenth century of our era, and he is often referred to in appreciative
terms by contemporary scholars writing on art subjects. A certificate written by
his nephew Hsiang Tc-yii on one of his pictures is dated the first day of the
eighth moon of the cyclical year kue'i ssii, in the reign of Wan Li, which is a. d. 1593.
A second laudatory certificate on another of his pictures is quoted in the cyclo-
paedia (Book LXXXVII) as written by the celebrated artist Tung Ch'i-ch'ang -
(a. d. 1555-1631), who poses as a friend and contemporary of Hsiang Sheng-mu,
also an artist of repute, who was a grandson of the author of our catalogue.

In the great bibliographical cyclopaedia of Ch'ien Lung,^ Hsiang Yuan-p'ien
is referred to as 'the most extensive collector of manuscripts and pictures of his
time ', and it is added that ' even in the present day art critics rely on his favourite
seal of Mo-lin to distinguish between the true and false'. The seal is appended
to the preface in our catalogue in the form Mo lin shan jen, i.e. 'A dweller in
the hills at Mo-lin.' The same seal,* by the way, is to be found on the famous
picture of the fourth-century artist Ku K'ai-chih, now in the British Museum, which

' Ch'iH t/iig P'ci wai cliai Shu hua p'n, published ' Ch'in tmg ssti k'n di'iian sliu tsitiig iiiu, Book

in TOO books by an imperial commission in 1708. CXI 1 1, fol. 9.

For Chinese title and other particulars, see * Illustrated in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Bushell's Oriental Ceramic Art (p. 647). Handbook of Chinese Art, by S. W. Bushel!

^ Cf. Prof. Giles's Chinese Biographical Die- (Vol. ii, Fig. 125).
tionary, p. 790.

8 CHINESE PORCELAIN

has been so well described by Mr. Laurence Binyon in the Burlington Magazine,
January, 1904. There is another supposed relic of our author in the Franks
Collection at the British Museum, which is described ^ as a flask-shaped bottle, with
two handles, 2k in. high, of Chinese porcelain, coarsely painted in blue ; on each
face a branch of peach. It has a carved stand, and is contained in a case of hard
wood lined with silk ; on the lid of the box is engraved in fine characters, Hsuan
tzii pao yiteh p'ing: — 'Precious moon-shaped vase of Hsiian-te (1426-35) porcelain,'
followed by a cutting of the name Tzit-ching, which, as we have seen above, is
Hsiang Yuan-p'ien's peculiar title, or hao. It is especially interesting to find it
here, attesting the date of what purports to be a specimen of early Ming blue
and white porcelain.

Hsiang Yuan-p'ien was a native of Chia-hsing-fu, a rich and ancient city,
situated on the banks of the Grand Canal, about midway between Suchou and
Hangchou. The latter are represented in a well-known popular rhyme as two
paragon cities : —

Shang yii t'ien faug
Hsia yu Sii Hang.

' Su and Hang, so rich and fair.
May well with Paradise compare.'

The beauties of Hangchou are celebrated by Marco Polo, under the name of
Kingsai, it having been the ' imperial capital ' of the latter days of the Sung,
and it must have been full of the relics of that dynasty. The Chinese author
visited, besides, Nanking, the capital of the early Ming dynasty, and Peking, the
imperial capital of his own day, and he figures pieces from important collections
in both of these cities.

The book opens with a short preface {/isu} signed by Hsiang Yuan-p'ien, styled
Tzu-ching, of Chia-ho (Chia-hsing-fu), and sealed in vermilion ink with two of his
seals inscribed in archaic script. The preface begins with a succinct, but masterly,
sketch of the history of the ceramic craft in China, passing rapidly over the earlier
times, because he knows of no actual specimens of the art that can be certainly
referred to them. Chinese critics define porcelain, which they call tz'u, as a hard,
compact, fine-grained pottery (t'ao), and distinguish it by the clear resonant note
which it gives out on percussion, and by the test that it cannot be scratched with
a knife. They do not lay so much stress as we do on the whiteness of the paste,
nor on its perfect translucency. Porcelain was certainly invented in China. The
place of its invention was probably Ching-te-chen, at which place we are told in
the annals of its parent city, Fou-liang-hsien, mines of white kaolinic clay have
been worked since the Han dynasty, which reigned from b. c. 202 to a. d. 220.

' Catalogue of Oriental Porcelain and Pottery, by A. W. Franks (No. 746J.

INTRODUCTION 9

The word tz'ti first came into use during the Han dynasty, and Mr. Hippisley'
plausibly takes this coining of a new word to designate the production of that
age to be a strong argument in favour of the early date. But others, more sceptical,
ask to handle actual pieces of translucent body that can be certainly referred to
the period. The Chinese themselves confess that before the beginning of the T'ang
dynasty, early in the seventh century of our era, there are no criteria at hand to
form an opinion. The official annals of Fou-liang referred to above record that
at this time T'ao Yu, a native of Hsin-p'ing (an old name of Fou-liang), carried
his porcelain as far as the capital of the empire (now Si-an-fu), and offered it to
the emperor under the name of 'imitation jade ware'. The same book records
that in the fourth year of the said reign (a. d. 621) an imperial decree was issued
ordering the potters of Hsin-p'ing to make a supply of porcelain utensils for the
use of the court.

The ceramic ware produced at this time is described to have been of finely
levigated paste, thin in body, translucent and brilliant as white jade. Its con-
temporary name of ' imitation jade ' is enough, almost, to prove that it must have
been really porcelain, taken into consideration with the fact that it was fabricated
in the very district that has always produced the finest porcelain up to the present
day. The Chinese descriptions, moreover, are remarkably confirmed by an Arab
traveller, Soleyman by name, who wrote an account of his journey to China in the
middle of the ninth century, in which the first mention of porcelain outside China
occurs. He says : ' They have in China a very fine clay with which they make
vases which are as transparent as glass ; water is seen through them. These vases
are made of clay.' -

But we have, unfortunately, no example of the white jade-like porcelain ware
of the T'ang dynasty illustrated in our series. Nor have we a specimen of the
Ch'ai Yao, the azure-tinted production of the house of Ch'ai, a short-lived dynasty
which reigned at K'ai-feng-fu in the province of Honan from a. d. 951 to 960,
and which, as we are told in the preface, was the first to become renowned for
its ceramic ware. The sovereign of this line who was canonized as Shih Tsung
(954-9), is said to have written on the porcelain indent, when it was submitted
for his approval : ' Let it be blue as the sky, clear as a mirror, thin as paper,
resonant as jade.' The Ch'ai Yao was the precursor of the early Kuan Yao of
the Sung dynasty, which was made in the same city at an imperial manufactory
founded in the beginning of the twelfth century of our era, the finest variety of
which was azure-tinted, of clair-de-liine tone, derived from the diffusion ol the
native cobaltiferous mineral in a pellucid glaze. The author declares that even

^ Catalogue of the Hippisley Collection of Chinese Persons dans I'lnde et a la Chine dans le IX' Steele

Porcelains, by A. E. Hippisley. Report of de I' ere chre'tienne, par M. Reinaud, menibre de

National Museum, 1888, Washington. I'lnstitut, Paris, 1845.

' Relation des Voyages fails par les Arabes el les

lo CHINESE PORCELAIN

a sherd of this renowned ware was as rare as a phantom in his own time. Some
of his contemporaries, however, describe pieces of dazzling lustre cut into a ring
for the girdle, or mounted with gold like a jewel for the cap. The author of the
Citing pi tsang, a book on art published in 1595, for instance, writes : ' I have
seen a fragment of CJiai Yao shaped into a ring to fasten the girdle, the azure
tint and brilliant sheen of which corresponded with the description, as given above,
but it differed in being thick.'

The azure-tinted Cliai Yao was not the first coloured ware made in China.
During the preceding T'ang dynasty which ruled over the whole of China from
A. D. 618 to 906, arts and letters flourished exceedingly, and there is abundant
reference to porcelain in the voluminous literature of the period, which has been
described as a protracted Augustan age. It was at this time, as hinted in our
artist's preface, that the ceramic art became really industrial. The most exact
references are to be found in the books on tea and the elaborate tea-drinking
ceremonial of the time, such as the CJia Ching, a classical work written by Lu Yu
in the eighth century of our era, which classifies tea-drinkers' bowls according to
the effect of the colour of their glaze in enhancing the tint of the infusion. The
bowls most highly esteemed were the blue bowls of Yueh-chou, the modern Shao-
hsing-fu, in the province of Chekiang; and the white bowls of Hsing-chou, now
Shun-te-fu, in the province of Chihli, where porcelain is still produced in the
present day. They both rang with a clear musical note, and are said to have
been used by musicians of the period, in sets of ten, to make chimes, being struck
on the rims with little rods of ebony. The yellow bowls of Shou-chou in Anhui
province, and the brown bowls of Ch'ang-nan in Kiangsi were declared to be not
so suitable for tea. The productions of this last factory, which was destined to
become, under its later name of Ching-te-chen, the metropolis of the ceramic art
in China, were not, at the same time neglected for other purposes, as the biography
of Chu Sui in the historical annals records the zeal he showed, when superintendent
of Hsin-p'ing, in obeying a decree, issued in 707, ordering sacrificial vessels to be
made for the imperial tombs.

The Yueh Yao was blue, and it owed its colour to cobalt. Shao-hsing-fu is
still the source of the best cobaltiferous mineral known in China, and it is found
in several hills in this prefecture in the form of irregular greenish-brown con-
cretions, hollow inside. Blue was, in fact, already becoming the beau-ideal of
these early potters, who sought to reproduce the intense depth of the sky in the
rifts between the clouds after rain. Their result was a monochrome glaze of
celadon tone, the more excellent in proportion as its colour partook less of green
and more of blue, as it was seldom without a nuance of green. The raw colouring
material being a complex mineral, containing, in addition to cobalt, oxides of iron,
copper, nickel and manganese, the shade would vary according to the proportions,
of these last ingredients, the iron giving a greenish shade, the nickel a greyish,

INTRODUCTION ii

the copper and manganese reddish or purplish tones. The ceramic colour was
known to the poets of the time as 'blue of the distant hills ', which suggests a touch
of purple. Under the Wu-Yueh, one of the ephemeral dynasties which succeeded
the T'ang, it was called /i se, 'the prohibited colour,' because it was then reserved
for the sovereign.

But literature is an uncertain ground for the definition of shades of colour,
and it is time to turn to the album again. The objects illustrated here are generally
arranged in classes, as we saw above, according to the purpose for which they were
intended to be used. In this connexion the series comprises : —

Sacrificial Vessels and Censers for incense.

Ink Palettes, Brush Rests, Water Pots, and Vases for the library.

Vases of varied form adapted for holding flowers, divining-rods, &c.

Jars and Libation Cups for sacrificial wine.

Wine Ewers and little Cups, Teapots and Teacups, Rice Bowls, Dishes, and
Saucers for ordinary use.

Wine Receptacles for convivial parties and Bowls for washing artists' brushes.

Rouge Pots and Perfume Boxes for the toilet.

A Pagoda, enshrining a jade image of Buddha and a jade jar containing sacred
relics from India, presented by the empress to the Porcelain Tower Temple
at Nanking.

Oil Lamps and Pricket Candlesticks of elaborate design.

The eighty-three objects figured are usually referred to their respective dates,
and traced to their several potteries or places of production. For the purposes
of discussion it will be convenient to rearrange the series according to the dates
and localities of the pieces, and to make a few notes under the heading of the
several potteries represented in the collection.

It will be found on analysis that fort3^-two of the pieces are attributed to the
Sung dynasty, a. d. 960-1279, one only to the Yuan dynasty, a. d. 1280-1367, and
the remaining forty to the Ming dynasty, which began to reign in the year 1368 ot
our era. Of the Ming emperors five reigns are represented : Yung-lo (1403-24) by
one piece, Hstian-te (1426-35) by twenty pieces, Ch'eng-hua (1465 87) by eleven
pieces, Hung-chih (1488-1505) by four pieces, and Cheng-te (1506-21) by four pieces.
Two of the pieces representing the last reign are teapots of red and buft' ' boccaro '
stoneware from the potteries of Yi-hsing, in the province of Kiangsu, which were
founded during this reign by Kung Ch'un : all the rest of the Ming pieces come
apparently from the celebrated imperial manufactory at Ching-te-chen, in the
province of Kiangsi. The Yuan dynasty piece, which is engraved under the white
glaze with the mark Shu fu, 'imperial palace,' is also no doubt a production of
Ching-te-chen.

The forty-two pieces referred to the Sung dynasty represent seven of the most
important of the several fabrics famous at the time, and comprise : three pieces of

12 CHINESE PORCELAIN

Ju Yao, 'Ju-chou ware'; twelve pieces of Ting Yao, 'Ting-chou ware,' including
examples of every glaze, white, purple, and black; ten pieces oi Kuan Yao, 'Imperial
ware'; one of Ko Yao, and eleven of the ordinary Lung-cliiian Yao, from Lung-
ch'ilan-hsien ; one of Tung Ch'tng Yao, from the eastern capital of K'ai-feng-fu ; and
four pieces o{ Chiin Yao, ' Chun-chou ware.'

The following Table gives a list of the Sung dynasty pieces arranged in their
several classes : —

Sung Dynasty.

Ju Yao Figs. 19, 22, 34.

{White. Figs, i, 4, 28, 33, 57, 82.
Ting Yao -Purple. Figs. 3, 14, 18, 24, 51.

{Black. Fig. 35.

Kuan Yao Figs. 2, 5, 8, 13, 15, 17, 47, 50, 53, 74.

Ko Yao Fig. 11.

Lung-ch'uan Yao . . Figs. 12, 16, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 32, 36, 68, 79.

Tung Ch'ing Yao . . Fig. 71.

Chun Yao Figs. 20, 30, 41, 78.

Ju Yao.

The Ju Yao of the Sung dynasty was made at Ju-chou, the modern Ju-chou-fu,
in the province of Honan. It is not the earliest of the Sung wares, but is deservedly
placed at the head of the list on account of its finished technique and the beauty' of
its glaze. The porcelain required for the palace was at first obtained from Ting-chou,
but the Ting Yao, we are told, was found to be so fragile that supplies for the use
of the court were ultimately ordered from Ju-chou. The Ju Yao is said to have
carried on the traditions of the celebrated C/i'ai Yao of the preceding dynasty, which
the emperor, as we have seen above, ordered to be made of the colour of the clear
sky in the inter\'als between the clouds after rain, and which was made in the same
province of Honan.

The paste of the Ju Yao is described to have been fine, dense, and extremely
hard, but its chief merits la}' in its glaze, which was so soft and lustrous that
connoisseurs compared it to congealed lard. It was often laid on so thickly as to
run down in rich masses and stop in a curved wavy line before reaching the foot
of the piece. The glaze was either crackled or plain in texture, and the latter was
preferred if its colour was pure and uniform. The two beautiful vases of ancient
bronze design illustrated in our catalogue (Figs. 19, 22) have both a plain uncrackled
glaze, the colour of which is described by the artist as that of the Filex tncisa, the
'sky-blue flower' of the Chinese, a flowering shrub which is common upon the
hillsides in summer throughout central and northern China. It is the yueh pai,
literally 'moon white' of the Chinese silk-d3'er, which we know in ceramic parlance

INTRODUCTION 13

as clair de liine, and this is the name technically given to the tint of the Jii Yu, or
'Ju Glaze', of the modern reproductions of the ancient colour. The third piece,
the curious duck-shaped wine-vessel illustrated in Fig. 34, is a specimen of crackled
Ju Yao, the lustrous glaze of pale purplish blue tone being reticulated with a coarse
network of lines like a piece of starred ice.

Some small pieces of Ju-chou ware of the Sung dynasty were sent down in the
reign of Yung Cheng (1723-35) to the imperial potteries of Ching-te-chen to have
the old glazes reproduced.^ They included a cat's food-basin, and a dish for
welshing brushes moulded in the form of a man's face, both of uncrackled sky-blue
glaze ; and a bowl of similar colour, which had its glaze finely crackled with the
minute network known technically as fish-roe crackle, the tniitee glaze of the French
ceramic writers.

Ting Yao.

Ting Yao is the name applied to the porcelain fabricated during the Sung
dynasty at Ting-chou in the province of Chihli, a district known from early times
for its rich deposits of kaolin, the porcelain clay of the Chinese. The white
porcelain from these potteries, with its delicate resonant body invested with a
soft-looking fluent glaze of ivory-white tone, is more common in collections than
any other of the Sung wares. The bowls and dishes were often fired bottom
upwards, and the rims, left unglazed, were afterwards mounted with copper collars
to preserve them from injury. Some are perfectly plain, clothed in the charac-
teristically soft white of ivory or creamy tone, the glaze perhaps collecting in
tear-drops outside ; others have been engraved at the point under the glaze with
ornamental patterns ; a third class has been ' pressed ' inside with intricate and
elaborate designs in more or less pronounced relief, the principal decorative motives
being scrolls of the tree paeony and lily flowers with flying phoenixes.

The original or ' Northern Ting ' {Pel Ting) ware lasted up to the 3^car 1127, when
the Sung emperors were driven south by the Tartars, the best specimens dating
from the periods Cheng-ho (1111-17) and Hsuan-ho (1119-25). After the crossing
to the south, as it is always called, the Nan Ting, or ' Southern Ting ' ware was
made at Nan-ch'ang, in the province of Kiangsi ; next we have the Hsin Ting, or
'New Ting' vases of elegant shape with contracted waists made in the Yuan
dynasty (1280-1367) by P'eng Chun-pao,- a worker in gold; and finally the Cliia
Ting or 'False Ting' censers of Chou Tan-ch'uan, the clever potter of the reign
of Wan-li (1573-1619), who imposed on the connoisseurs of his time b}'' his
marvellous reproductions of the four-footed incense-burner of Wen Wang, one ot
which forms the first illustration in our album. He worked also at Ching-te-chen,

' Cf. Bushell's Oriental Ceramic Art |p. 369). lainc Ckiiioise on p. .\.\.\iii of his Preface dti

' His story is well told by Julien in his Force- traducleur.

14 CHINESE PORCELAIN

and reproductions of the old Ting Yao are still made there, which must not be
confounded with the older varieties.

The Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty is divided into three classes, white, purple,
and black, according to the colour of the glaze, the body of the porcelain being
alwa3^s white. All the three classes are well represented in our series. The white
pieces are remarkable for the fine modelling of the forms and for the intricate finish
of the workmanship, especially, for instance, the sacrificial vessel of bronze design
illustrated in Fig. i, the elephant-shaped wine-jar in Fig. 3, and the pricket candle-
stick with phoenix and lotus details in Fig. 82. The glaze in the finest pieces is
compared by the artist in his description to the purest white jade of mutton-fat grain,
which has always been the ideal of the Chinese potter.

The purple variety is represented by five specimens, the most important of
which are those in Figs. 3, 18, and 51. The colour of the glaze is likened by the
artist to the tint of ripe purple grapes, and, again, to the rind of the aubergine fruit.
It was obtained no doubt from the cobaltiferous manganese mineral which has
always been the sheet-anchor of the Chinese potter. The older Chinese poets sing
of red Ting-chou wine-cups like carved red agate or carnelian, but we have nothing
of this kind now before us.

Of black Ting Yao there is only one example, which is exhibited in Fig. 35.
Its rarity may be inferred from the artist's description that he has seen over a
hundred pieces of the white variety, some tens of the purple, but only this one
specimen of the black. It is a duck-headed bottle, in which the black only extends
over the head and neck, while the body of the vase remains white, and is truly, as
the artist wittily remarks, a vara avis among wine-bottles. Some tea-drinkers of
the Sung dynasty refer to ' hare's-fur cups ' of Ting-chou porcelain, as being the
most highly appreciated of any at the time, and describe them as invested with
a rich lustrous coat of dappled grey, which revealed the very faintest trace of the
powdered tea inside before it disappeared altogether in the last competitive watering.
In this peculiar quality their only rivals were the 'partridge cups' of the Fuchien
potteries, which were of lustrous black shot with purple, dappled with green and
silvery lines and flecks, like the plumage of the Perdrix cinerea.

Kuan Yao.

The Ktian Yao was so called because it was the 'imperial ware' of the Sung
dynasty, kuan meaning ' official ', or ' imperial ', and the name still remains in use
to-day for the productions of the imperial potteries at Ching-te-chen. The first
manufactory in the Sung dynasty was founded early in the twelfth century at the
capital Pien-chou, the modern K'ai-feng-fu. A few years later, in the year 1127 of
our era, the dynasty was driven to the south by the advancing Tartars, after which
factories were founded in the new capital, the modern Hang-chou-fu, to supply' the

INTRODUCTION 15

palace, and the productions of the new kihis built within the city near the Temple
of Heaven continued to be called Kuan Yao.

The imperial porcelain produced at the old capital seems to have resembled,
in most of its qualities, the celebrated Cliai Yao, which, as we saw above, was
fabricated at the same place. The glazes, rich and unctuous, of the old Kuan Yao
were generally reticulated with coarse lines like cracked ice, and were of various
tints, of which yueh pal, or clair dc tune, was the most highly esteemed of all,
followed by fen-cliing, ' pale purple,' ta-lii, ' emerald green ' (literally gros veti),
and \dLSt\y hui-se, 'grey.' The Hang-chou ware was made of a dark reddish paste
coated with the same glazes as the old, and we meet with descriptions of iron-
coloured feet and brown mouths applied to bowls, the colour of the paste of which
was exposed underneath and, again, showed through at the rims where the glaze
was thinnest.

The ten pieces of Kuan Yao illustrated in the album are mostly described as
being of the fen-ch'tng, or pale purplish blue type. The first eight in the list are
crackled in the conventional way, like starred ice, with a broad network of lines.
The last two, illustrated in Figs. 53, 74, are uncrackled, although distinguished by
the pure colouring of their rich monochrome glazes, revealing clearly, in the latter
case, the relief work in the paste underneath, which is fashioned after the pattern
of a saucer of carved red lacquer.

The quaint emblematic ink palette illustrated in Fig. 8 must be a production of
the Hang-chou potteries, as the picture clearly reveals its iron-grey paste in the parts
left uncovered by the glaze.

Kg Yao.

We come next to the far-famed celadon wares made in the Sung dynast}^ at
Lung-ch'uan-hsien, in the prefecture Ch'u-chou-fu, in the southern part of the
province of Chekiang, the cli'ing tz'ti, or ' green porcelain ' par excellence of the
Chinese, the seiji of the Japanese, the niartabanl of the Arabs and Persians. There
is a lordly pile of literature on the ' celadon question ' in all its bearings, and the
field, attractive as it is, can hardly be laboured further here. During the early part
of the Sung dynasty factories were established at Liu-t'ien, some twenty miles
distant from the walled city of Lung-ch'ilan, and under its jurisdiction. Traditions
have been handed down of two brothers named Chang, who are said to have lived
here in the twelfth century of our era. The productions of the elder brother, called
for that reason Chang Sheng-yi, were popularly known at the time as Ko Yao, the
' Elder Brother's Ware ', and were chiefly distinguished by the crackled texture of
their glazes. Chang Sheng-erh, 'Chang Secundus,' fabricated typical celadon ware
on the old lines, only improving the lustre and colour of the green glaze, so that
his productions continued to be known by the old name of Lung-ch'iian Yao.

i6 CHINESE PORCELAIN

The crackled glaze of the early Ko Yao is described as looking as if it were
'broken into a hundred pieces' {po-sui), or as being like the 'roe of a fish' {ya-tcu)
— the French tniitee. It was not, however, all sea-green, or celadon. The shades
of colour included SiXso fen-ch'ing, or 'pale purple', due to cobaltiferous manganese;
and mi-se, or ' millet-coloured ', the yellow tniitee glaze derived from iron and
antimony, which became known to European collectors as ' old mustard crackle '.
Ko Yao is represented in the album by a single piece, the little hill-shaped brush
rest illustrated in Fig. ii, the glaze of which is described as 'pale purple' (fen-ch'ing)
in tint, crackled with ice-like lines {ping-wen). It looks, in fact, in the picture, very
like an ordinary piece of Kuan Yao of the time.

Such was the original Ko Yao; the name has since been extended to include
all kinds of porcelain covered with crackled monochrome glazes in every shade of
greenish and bluish celadon, as well as crackled yellows, greys, and whites. So
we have Ko Yao of the Yuan dynasty (1280-1367), which was turned out in large
quantities from the same potteries, but was far inferior to the old ware both in grain
and in colour. The ancient crackle was highly prized in Borneo and other islands
of the Eastern Archipelago as far east as Ceram, and it figures largely among relics
of old Chinese porcelain and pottery brought to our museums from these parts.
The modern potter at Ching-te-chen, we are told, knows nothing of the ancient
Ko Yao, nor of the derivation of the name, it means to him only ' a crackled ware '.

Lung-ch'uan Yao.

The ordinary Lung-ch'uan Yao is the typical celadon ware. Cdadon was the
name of the hero of the popular novel L'Astr^e, written by Honors d'Urfe in the
seventeenth century, who used to appear on the stage dressed in clothes of a peculiar
greyish or bluish sea-green hue. The shade became fashionable and the name was
borrowed to describe a similar tint in the colour of Chinese porcelain. The peculiar
shade was specially characteristic of the Lung-ch'uan ware of the Ming dynasty
(1368-1643), which was made in the city of Ch'u-chou-fu, to which the factories had
been meanwhile transferred from Liu-t'ien. The colour has been well compared
to the grey-green tint of the skin of the Chinese olive, a species of canarium, and
it toned down through lighter intermediate shades to the palest sea-green, such
as distinguishes certain kinds of old European glass-ware. This was the prevailing
colour of the large bowls and dishes which were marked underneath with ferruginous
rings, defining the portions of the paste left unglazed so as not to adhere to the
supports in the kiln, and which were so highly valued in Mohammedan countries
because it was fancied that they had the property of detecting poisoned food by
changing colour.

The Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty was of a darker and more pronounced
green, as is clearly shown in our illustrations. The finest specimens of the period

INTRODUCTION 17

display a bright grass-grccn, the Is'iing-lU, or 'onion-green' of the Chinese, who
liken it to fresh onion sprouts, and they occasionally approach the yet brighter
emerald-green tint of jadcite. The pieces, comparatively small in size, are generally
completely covered with glaze underneath, only the narrow foot-rim being left bare.
Their decoration is either incised in the paste, or worked in sensible relief, its
effect being enhanced by the varied shades of colour according to the depth of
the glaze. The forms are often fluted or ribbed, and with wavy or foliated rims;
some have a paeony or lotus blossom, fishes or dragons, sprays of flower or
geometrical patterns etched in the paste; others have a pair of fish worked in
relief inside, or two movable ring-handles attached outside.

During the Sung dynasty there was commercial intercourse by sea between
China and the Mohammedan countries ; and we read in both Arabian and Chinese
books of the time that 'green porcelain' was one of the articles of trade. The
Chinese say that their junks went to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and
proceeded down the east coast of Africa as far as Zanzibar, which they call
Tsangpa, and are curiously confirmed by the discovery there in some old ruins,
during Sir John Kirk's residence as H.M. Consul-General, of a quantity of celadon
vessels, mostly in fragments, mixed with Chinese copper coins of the Sung dynasty.

This celadon ware was probably the earliest Chinese porcelain seen in Europe,
coming probably by way of Alexandria. An Arab manuscript in the Bibliolhhjue
Nationale at Paris, treating of the life and exploits of Saladin, mentions that the
emir presented, in the year 1171, forty pieces of this kind of Chinese porcelain to
Nureddin. Marco Polo refers to it, and he is probably the first to apply the name
oi porcelaine to the ceramic production of the Far East, which he says was exported
in his time to all parts of the world. In England a well-known early piece is
a small celadon bowl, artistically mounted in silver-gilt, at New College, Oxford,
which was presented by Archbishop Warham between the years 1504 and 1532.

There are eleven pieces oi Limg-cliUan Yao in our collection, all of which are
attributed to the Sung dynasty. The favourite simile of the artist when he is
describing the colour of the glaze is that of fresh green onions, but he likens it in
other cases to green jade, to wet moss, to the fresh foliage of the willow, to parrot
feathers, to the green plumes of the kingfisher, and once to the rind of a young
cucumber. Only one of the pieces is crackled, the many-mouthed receptacle for
flowers, illustrated in Fig. 25, which is described as a rare specimen from these
kilns, in that it has its bright glaze of parrot-green hue crackled with lines like
fissured ice. The other pieces are all uncrackled, with the ornamental details
either etched in the paste, or worked in relief, under shaded green glazes of the
traditional tone of colouring.

i8 CHINESE PORCELAIN

Tung Ch'ing Yao.

The name of Tung Ch'ing Yao, which may be rendered ' Eastern celadon
ware ', was originally given to the productions of the private kilns in the vicinity
of K'ai-feng-fu, in Honan, which was the eastern capital of the Northern Sung
dynasty (a. d. 960-1126). It is said to have resembled generally the Kuan Yao,
the 'imperial ware' of the time, but was of coarser make and paler colour, and
the glaze was never crackled. The one specimen in the collection is an octagonal
porcelain bowl intended for washing artists' brushes (Fig. 71), shaped like a flower-
pot with a foliated rim. Its sides are etched with formal floral scrolls, under a
glaze which is described by the artist as being as blue-green as the turquoise
plumes of the kingfisher laid on in layers, and as being strewn with millet-like
grains rising in faint relief.

The name of Tung-ch'tng has survived to the present day as that of the typical
sea-green celadon glaze. The first character tting, meaning ' east ', is, however,
often now supplanted by another character of the same sound meaning 'winter',
implying the new reading of ' winter-green ' or ' ever-green '. This is declared
by ceramic purists to be a corruption, but it is the form usually adopted in the
imperial lists of porcelain prepared periodically for the palace.

The recent reproductions of the Tung-ch'ing glaze at Ching-te-chen are
prepared by adding to the materials of the ordinary white glaze a very small
proportion of the ferruginous clay {huang-fu), which, when more concentrated,
will produce graded shades of old gold, buff", cafe an latt, dead-leaf brown, and
chocolate. The typical celadon colour has been well defined by Salvetat as, ' un
ton pale legerement bleuatre, analogue au ton de certains verres de gobeleterie.'

The recent reproductions of the Lnng-fJiiian glazes at the same place are
prepared by the further addition of a little cobaltiferous manganese to the materials
of the above Tting-diing glaze, resulting in a more pronounced greenish tone,
which is also technically known in ceramic books as tou-ch'ing, or ' pea-green '.

ChUn Yao.

The Chiin Yao was fabricated at the potteries of Chun-chou, which dated from
the beginning of the Sung dynast}^ about the year 960 of our era. The locality
corresponds to the modern district of Ya-chou, in the province of Honan. The
productions were not ranked very high at the time, because the clay was slightly
yellowish in tone and not so perfectly potted as in the imperial ware, for example,
and because the forms were generally original, instead of being copied from
classical designs in bronze or jade. This last point does not detract from their
attraction to Western eyes, and the glazes were of extraordinary variety and

INTRODUCTION 19

brilliancy, culminating in the flambe or transmutation glaze, with its flashing red
passing through every intermediate shade of purple to bright azure-blue, the later
reproduction of which is one of the chief triumphs of the Chinese potter. The
glaze is really, as M. Vogt justly remarks, la qiialite maitresse de la cdramique.

The glazes concocted here were all those of the grand feu, produced by com-
binations of copper and cobaltiferous manganese, variegated by the flames, oxidizing
or reducing according to circumstances, of the large furnace. The Chinese appre-
ciated most highly the three monochromes, ruby-red, bright green, and aubergine
purple, the first when like vermilion, the second of the tint of green onions or of
kingfisher plumes, the third when it approached Indian ink in its most blue-black
depth of tone. The mixed Jlambt' colours they did not care for so much, con-
sidering them to be fortuitous changes in the kiln of one of the glazes intended
to be monochromes. Flower-pots and saucers were much sought after, especially
when marked underneath with one or two numerals incised in the paste. Among
other things there were square vases and jars with covers, censers and round pots
for incense, barrel-shaped garden seats, &c.

Some idea of the variety of glazes turned out from these kilns may be gathered
from a list of nine ancient examples sent to Ching-te-chen to be copied in the reign
of Yung Cheng (1723-35), which comprised : —

1. Rose-leaf crimson [inei-kiiei tzii).

2. Pyrus japonica pink (hai-t'ang hung).

3. Aubergine purple {chich-p'i tzu).

4. Plum-skin blue {mei-tzu cli'ing).

5. Mule's liver mingled with horse's lung {lo kan ma fei).

6. Dark purple {shen tzii).

7. Millet yellow {mi sc).

8. Sky-blue {f'len Ian).

9. Furnace transmutations, or Jlambes {yao pien).

The four examples of Chiin Yao illustrated in our album are all of varied
shades of purple. The first (Fig. 20), a wine-jar with phoenix-shaped handles, has
the numeral zvu, 'five,' engraved under the foot as a 'mark', proving it to be,
the artist observes, really a Chiin-chou piece. The next (Fig. 30) is a miniature
vase with the mottled purple and blue glaze, according to the description, ' vulgarly
known as ass's liver and horse's lung.' The ovoid wine-pot with a tiny spout
(Fig. 41) is described as a choice example of the typical aubergine glaze ; and the
quaint dragon-shaped lamp (Fig. 78), as approaching in its tint the deeper shade
of autumnal bulrushes.

The pieces are small, and hardly satisfying, it must be confessed, to one who
has seen such magnificent trophies from these kilns in Chinese collections. A note
at hand refers, for instance, to a tripod censer of reddish pate, 18 inches high,
with rounded bowl and receding neck, thickly imbued with an unctuous opalescent

20 CHINESE PORCELAIN

glaze of mottled clair de bine type, contrasting vividly with the flashing red hue
of a pair of archaic dragons worked in bold relief round the hollow of the neck
and partially reserved between two irregularly undulating lines of glaze — the dragons
formed an imposing frieze, half hidden, as it were, in azure-tinted clouds.

Shu Fu Yao.

The Yuan dynasty, which was established in China by Kublai Khan, the
grandson of the great Tartar conqueror, Genghis Khan, in the year 1280 of our
era, and ruled over China eighty-eight years, is represented in our collection by the
small white vase of unusual interest which is illustrated in Fig. 21. It is described
as being lightly etched in the paste underneath the foot with the two characters
shu fu, ' imperial palace,' a mark indicating its destination for the emperor's own use,
and suggesting our heading, Shu Fu Yao, i.e. ' Palace Ware.' The affiliation of this
ware, with its peculiar technique, is traced out by the artist from a ceramic point of
view, in a novel and interesting way. We know from ceramic annals that the Sung
dynasty, when they crossed over to the south in 1126, and abandoned Ting-chou
to the Juchen Tartars, transferred the fabrication of Ting Yao to Nan-ch'ang, in the
province of Kiangsi, in other words to Ching-te-chen, the great centre of Chinese
ceramic industry. The artist accordingly traces back the technique of the vase to
the old Ting-chou porcelain of the Northern Sung. He carries it on, besides, to the
well-known white bowls of eggshell texture dating from the reigns of Yung-lo (1403-24)
and Hsuan-te (1426-35) of his own dynasty, which were similarly tooled in the paste
with an etched decoration, and were also lightly engraved with date-marks under
their soft white paste, and which, he says, were modelled in all respects after the
Shu Fu Yao.

The Yuan dynasty was not particularly distinguished for its porcelain. The
kilns at Ching-te-chen were, we are told, occasionally opened by imperial command,
but only to be closed again as soon as the indent was filled ; and next we read of the
temporary removal of the potteries to other parts of the province, to escape the
merciless exactions of the mandarins in charge.

The white porcelain figured here was, of course, not the only kind fabricated at
the time. There are several coloured celadons and crackled wares of diverse origin,
which generally show transition characters, as in the case of the white. The
massive bowls and cups so often dug up throughout northern China, which figure
commonly in collections as Yuan porcelain [Yuan tzit), can hardly, in fact, be
distinguished from the ceramic productions of the Sung dynasty. The emperor
Ch'ien Lung, for instance, in some verses of his own composition written in 1776
and etched upon a typical pair of these bowls ^ through the pale purple crackled glaze
mottled with crimson blotches, which had been dug up at Urumtsi in Chinese

' Now, I believe, in the Freer Collection at New York.

INTRODUCTION 21

Turkestan, begins his ode with the stanza, ' If not palace bowls of the Sung they are
Yuan copies of the Sung.' The class is generally characterized by a thick glaze of
unctuous aspect and finely crackled texture, which often only partially covers the
surface, leaving the lower parts of the bowl bare ; the prevailing colours are lavender
speckled with red, and clair de lime tones stained with crimson ferruginous blotches,
of accidental origin, but much appreciated by collectors.

Passing on to the Ming dynasty (a.d. 1368-1643), we find forty select pieces of
its ceramic productions illustrated in the album, belonging to five reigns. These have
been classified according to the dates, and according to the methods of decoration,
and have been arranged for convenience of reference in tabular form as follows : —

Ming Dynasty.

Yung Lo White. Fig. 62.

/Monochromes. Figs. 40, 73.
Coloured glazes. Figs. 10, 43, 77.

HstJAN Te ^Painted in blue. Figs. 9, 31, 37, 39, 48, 69, 83.

Painted in red. Figs. 6, 54, 56, 61, 70, 72, 75.

\In red and blue. Fig. 58.
Ch'eng Hua (Coloured glazes. Figs. 38, 49, 65, 76, 82.

(Painted in colours. Figs. 55, 59, 60, 63, 64, 66.
Hung Chih {Monochrome (yellow). Figs. 7, 46, 67.

{Coloured glazes. Fig. 42.
Cheng Te (Monochrome (yellow). Figs. 52, 80.

(Yi-hsing ' Boccaro ' ware. Figs. 44, 45.

Yung Yao.

Under the heading of Yung Yao, that is to sa}', ' porcelain ware of the reign of
Yung-lo,' which corresponds to a.d. 1403-24, only one piece is given, the eggshell
cup engraved with dragons and phoenixes under the soft white glaze illustrated in
Fig. 62. The steps in the development of this charming white porcelain and of its
lightl}^ etched decoration have been already indicated in the description of the white
imperial ware of the Yuan dynasty (page 20). The thin body of a bowl having
been pared on the jigger, under the Ming dynasty, almost to the vanishing point,
was either incised at the point, or pressed, with decorative designs, before the glaze
was finally blown on with a spray-tube tied round with silk gauze. The effect was
like that of the water-mark of paper, and to bring it out properly it was necessary to
hold up the bowl to the light. The mark also had to be read as a transparency;

22 CHINESE PORCELAIN

it was generally written, as in this case, in six characters of archaic script, but
occasionally in four characters, the name of the dynasty (Ta Ming, 'the Great Ming')
being omitted.

The porcelain of this reign was also occasionally painted with cobalt blue, or
again, decorated in colours, especially coral-red in combination with gold, but as
there are no examples before us, it need not detain us further. It is generally
ranked by native connoisseurs below that of the reigns of Hsuan-te and Ch'eng-hua,
but above the ceramic productions of Chia-ching and later reigns.

HsiJAN Yao.

The ceramic productions of the reign of Hsuan-te (a. d. 1426-35) are included
under the heading oi Hsiian Yao. His reign was justly celebrated for its porcelain,
as well as for its artistic work in bronze, and it is generally considered by Chinese
authorities as rivalled only by that of Ch'eng-hua, among the reigns of the Ming
dynasty; Hsuan-te excelling in the quality of its blue decoration and in the ruby-like
tones of its reds, while Ch'eng-hua was pre-eminent for the artistic treatment of its
combinations in different colours. Our album is very rich in specimens of these two
reigns, figuring, as it does, twenty of the former and eleven of the latter ; and the
pictures are well described by the artist, so that they illustrate most satisfactorily
the voluminous ceramic literature of the times.

The fine quality of the ' blue and white ' of the reign of Hsuan-te is said to have
been due to the importation from the west of Asia of some new foreign material,
which Hsiang Yuan-p'ien refers to under the name of ' Mohammedan blue ' or gros
bleu {Hui-hiii ta ch'tng), suggesting a Persian or Arabic source.^ The typical blue of
the time was somewhat pale, but clear and pure in tint, harmonizing well with the
jade-like tone of the white ground, which occasionally had a wavy surface strewn
with faint elevations like grains of millet.

The yet more famous ruby-red {pao-shih hung) of the period was obtained from
copper. The finely pulverized metal was applied on the raw paste, in the same way
as the cobalt mineral, and subsequently coated with the white glaze. After the piece
had been fired the red designs are described as flashing through the liquescent glaze
so as to dazzle the eyes with their lustre. The Chinese story says that it was
prepared from powdered rubies, and amethystine quartz seems really to have been
incorporated with the glaze to give it greater transparency ; but the colour could not
have been due to this, because rubies and amethysts would become colourless in the

' Perhaps obtained from Baluchistan, in the Burton {Porcelain, p. 68), can be used without any

mountainous parts of which have been found other preparation than that of grinding and levi-

deposits of the purest cobalt ore, in the form of gation. The native Chinese ore, it is well known,

the mineral known as cobalt bloom, a compound belongs mineralogically to the variety of wad

of cobalt and arsenic, which, according to Mr. W. known as asbolite.

INTRODUCTION 23

intense heat of the furnace ; its application under the glaze shows that it must have
been obtained from copper. The colour after firing is of vivid sang de bccuf tone ; it
appears as a monochrome over etched details in the beautiful wine-pot of jade design
illustrated in Fig. 40, and outside the palace dish in Fig. 73 ; as one of several coloured
glazes in Figs. 10, 43 ; as a painted decoration in ' red and white ' in the other figures
on the list ; and in combination with undcrglaze cobalt blue in the charming wine-cup
reproduced in Fig. 58.

Ch'eng Yao.

There is an interval of thirty years between the close of the last reign and
the beginning of that of Ch'eng-hua (a. d. 1465-87), during which the reigning
Chinese emperor was carried off to Mongolia and kept prisoner by the Mongols
for seven years, and in the midst of the national troubles the porcelain manufacture
was much neglected. In the reign of Ch'eng-hua there was a marked revival of
the industry, so that the new ruler disputes with his grandfather Hsiian-te for the
ceramic supremacy of the dynasty. The general verdict of connoisseurs is that
the new reign failed in the vigour of its copper-reds ; and also in the quality of
its ' blue and white ', now that the exotic supply of cobalt was no longer available ;
but that it excelled in its artistic decorations in mixed colours. This is curiousl}^
confirmed by the selection before us, which consists of eleven pieces, all of which
are decorated in colours, neither blues nor reds having, apparently, been deemed
worthy of being exhibited.

The eleven pieces are grouped in the above list in two classes, the first
including those decorated in coloured glazes, the second those painted with different
colours. The distinction, first made by Sir Wollaston Franks,' is a real one, the
technique of the second class only being like that of a water-colour artist painting
on silk or paper with a brush. The first class is a continuation of similar work
executed in the last reign, and the colours always produce a certain effect of
isolation and relief which is not quite satisfactory to the eye. The second, on the
contrary, allows the harmonious combination of the colours in a miniature picture,
painted on the soft white ground with a brush after the best canons of Chinese art.
It must be granted, however, that no very decided line is to be drawn between the
two classes, and that the same palette of enamel colours must have been used in
both.

The attractive wine-pot illustrated in Fig. 38 will serve as a typical example
of the first class ; it is modelled in the shape of a melon, with stalks and tendrils,
leaves and smaller melons worked upon it in open-work relief, and the decoration
is naturalistically executed in green, yellow, and brown enamels of appropriate

' Catalogue of the Franks Collection of Oriental Porcelain and Pottery, 2nd Edition, 1878.

24 CHINESE PORCELAIN

shade. For the second class we may refer to the following two classical designs
in Chinese ceramic art : a stemmed wine-cup (Fig. 55) painted in enamel colours
on a white ground with festoons of grapes; and a flat cup (Fig. 64) with spreading
sides 'diaphanous as a cicada's wing', painted with chicken, butterflies, and a
cockscomb growing from rocks, in subdued colours, ' after the style of a celebrated
court artist in water-colours of the Sung dynasty.' The artist gives an enthusiastic
description of another pair of these graceful eggshell cups, under Figs. 59, 60, which
are artistically decorated in soft colours with flowers and insects on a white ground
of perfect transparency. The oil-lamp illustrated in Fig. 82, designed in the shape
of a nelumbium lotus, is also worthy of mention ; the shaded pink petals of its floral
receptacle owe their colour, doubtless, to copper silicate, foreshadowing the famous
'peach bloom' and 'crushed strawberry' shades of a later da^^; the pinks and
crimsons derived from gold were certainly unknown to Chinese ceramic decorators
in these early times. As far as we can gather from the literature of the subject, and
from an inspection of our illustrations of the pieces painted on a white ground with
polychrome enamels, in the style which is technically known as zvii-tsai, or 'five-
coloured ', the colours are blue of purplish hue, yellow, greens of graded shade,
coral-reds of varied tint, and brown. If there be a ' mark ' attached, it is pencilled
underneath in cobalt-blue sous couverte, which would not be included in the poly-
chrome list.

HuNG-CHiH Yao.

The emperor Hung-chih succeeded his father Ch'eng-hua and reigned eighteen
years (1488-1505), carrying on the ceramic traditions of his predecessor. The
elegant wine-pot modelled in the form of a gourd, which is illustrated in Fig. 42,
is referred to the new reign, and it would bear comparison, the artist tells us, with
any production of the same style decorated in polychrome enamels of the preceding
era. The reign of Hung-chih is, however, particularly remarkable for its monochrome
yellows of pure tone, the finest of which ^xq jaiine jonqiiille, or compared to the tint
of the petals of a hibiscus flower. The other three pieces of the reign figured here
are aU enamelled 3^ellow. The fluted teacup reproduced in Fig. 46 shows the
typical shade ; it is moulded in the shape of a hibiscus blossom and coated outside
with a monochrome glaze after the natural tint of the flower. In the case of the
little incense burner illustrated in Fig. 7 the yellow, more orange in tone, is likened
to baked chestnuts, the traditional colour of the rare yellow jade.

The yellow monochrome, which owes its colour probably to iron, is the fore-
runner ot the ' imperial yellow ', so called because it is by sumptuary laws reserved
for the use of the emperor. A coflection of 'imperial yellow' will be usually found
to open with a rice-bowl or saucer-shaped dish, pencilled underneath in under-glaze
blue with a six-character mark of the Hung-chih period. The glaze will be either

INTRODUCTION 25

perfectly plain, or spread over a decoration of five-clawed dragons in the midst of
scrolled clouds incised in the paste.

Cheng Te Yao.

The son of the preceding emperor, who reigned under the title of Chcng-te
from A. D. 1506 to 1521, is the last represented in our album. The ceramic works
at Ching-te-chen were in the hands of eunuchs sent down from the court at Peking,
and the books are full of complaints about their cupidity and oppression, from the
officials as well as from the potters. The supply of cobalt blue from Western Asia,
which had failed smce the time of Hsuan-te, came again in this reign by a new route,
as we are told that a high eunuch, appointed governor of the province of Yunnan,
obtained some Hiii citing, or ' Mohammedan blue', from abroad ; it was melted with
a mineral flux to make imitation sapphires, and was valued at twice its weight in
gold ; and when it was found that it would stand the grand fen, it was used in
the decoration of porcelain, the colour of which surpassed the old. The story is
confirmed by a special case in the British Museum filled with Chinese bronzes of
the period with Arabic scrolls, together with some specimens of Chinese blue and
white porcelain with similar Arabic inscriptions, mostly marked underneath Cheng te
nien chili, 'made in the reign of Cheng-te (1506-21).' The 'mark 'also occurs on
vases decorated with coloured glazes, with green dragons, for instance, relieved b}^
a yellow ground, or on bowls roughly painted round the sides with fishes in
underglaze copper-red ; but the reign is not distinguished by any special excellence
either of style or material, and it ranks certainly below the next reign of Chia-ching
(1522-66), during which there was destined to be a decided renaissance of Chinese
ceramic art at Ching-te-chen.

The reign of Cheng-te is illustrated here in Figs. 52, 80 by two pieces of
porcelain, both of which display the yellow monochrome glaze of orange tone which
is compared to the tint of baked chestnuts. Both are modelled after old bronzes,
the first being a helmet-shaped libation cup of archaic classical form, the second
a lamp poised upon the head of a phoenix standing on a tortoise.

The other two pieces referred to the period are the teapots of Yi'-hsing Yao
illustrated in Figs. 44, 45, which are included as curious instances of the yao p'len,
or 'furnace transmutation' class, in other words as lusns naturae, fortuitously
produced by the agency of the fire. The teapots, both unglazed, of the natural
colour of the fired paste, one being brick-red, the other fawn-coloured, are described
as being severally endowed with the property of changing to a bright green when
tea is poured in, so as to indicate the level of the liquid inside. The Chinese
have a taste for the marvellous, and describe many kinds of yao pten, or ' furnace
changes', in which forms, pastes, and glazes have become in turn variously

26 CHINESE PORCELAIN

modified ; some they attribute to miraculous agency, others to human ingenuity,
but there is no time to labour the subject here.

The Yi-hsing Yao is the well-known coloured stoneware, or terra cotta, made
at Yi-hsing-hsien, in the prefecture Chang-chou-fu, province of Kiangsu. The
potteries are not far from Shanghai, on the western shores of the T'ai-wu Lake, and
turn out a fine stoneware of various body-tints, buff, red, brown, and chocolate-
coloured, which is preferred to porcelain by Chinese for the infusion of tea and
for preserving delicate sweetmeats. The Portuguese called it boccaro, and the
name has remained. It was first imitated in Europe by Bottger, the inventor of
Saxon porcelain, in 1708, in the fabrication of his so-called porcelahie rouge; and
was afterwards copied with great exactness b}' the Elers in Staffordshire.

There is a special Chinese book on these teapots by Chou Kao-ch'i, called
Yang hsien Ming liu list, ' A collection of the teapots of Yang-hsien ' (an old name of
Yi-hsing). This is probably the source of the document translated by Captain F.
Brinkley,^ and his book may be consulted for further information on a ware which
is appreciated as highly in Japanese tea-clubs as it is in China itself. The Japanese
copied it in their celebrated Banko-yak'i.

The above cursor}^ notes on the different potteries represented in the album will
have cleared the ground for a few remarks on the collection as a whole. Having
been compiled towards the close of the Ming dynasty, in the second half of the
sixteenth century of our era, the pictures give a good general idea of the chief
achievements of the ceramic art of China up to that period. The objects figured may
be briefly studied according to their forms, technique, and methods of decoration.

The forms are mostly derived from ancient bronzes ; or from carved jade vases,
modelled themselves generally after ancient bronzes ; and the artist is usually careful
to trace back each particular design to its original source. The Sung dynasty, which
began in 960 and lasted over three centuries, has been characterized as a protracted
Augustan era in China. Philosoph}^ was widely cultivated, vast encyclopaedias were
written, and a host of commentaries on the classics issued from the press, so that the
period has been summed up in a word as that of Neo-Confucianism. The emperor
and high officials of the time made collections of books, pictures, rubbings of inscrip-
tions, bronze and jade antiquities, and other art objects, the illustrated catalogues of
which still remain, although the collections have long since been dispersed. The
Chinese, it is well known, have the greatest veneration for antiquity, and the study of
ancient relics and of the inscriptions upon them forms an important branch of their
literature. Archaeologists classify the specimens, which are constantly being dug up
from the ground, under the two headings of Chin, ' Metal,' and S/ii/i, ' Stone.' The
former class includes sacrificial vessels, bells, and ordinary utensils of bronze, bronze

' Japan and China, by Captain F. Brinkley, vol. ix, pp. 353-65.

INTRODUCTION 27

nnrrors, bronze weapons, and coins ; the latter class comprises stone sculptures in
bas-relief, incised inscriptions, Buddhist images and other figures, prehistoric stone
weapons, vessels and utensils of nephrite and other kinds of jade, archaic pottery,
inscribed bricks and tiles, &c. The early illustrated commentaries on the classics,
and the first special works on bronzes, like the Ting Lu, a record of celebrated urns
written in the sixth century, include much that is fanciful and legendary ; but the
Sung catalogues are more reliable, containing fine illustrations of the actual objects
and facsimile woodcuts of the inscriptions. The most important of these catalogues
now in circulation, which is often quoted by Hsiang Yuan-p'ien, is the Hsiian Ho Po
Kit T'u Lu, 'Illustrated Description of the Antiquities in the Hsuan Ho (Palace),' in
thirty books, which was written by Wang Fu in the beginning of the twelfth century
of our era, and has been frequently reprinted since. It is usually printed together
with the K'ao Ku T'u, ' Illustrated Examination of Antiquities,' which comprises
catalogues of several private collections compiled by Lu Ta-lin in 1092, in ten books ;
and with a smaller work, in two books, entitled Ku Yii T'u, 'Illustrations of Ancient
Jade.' Another catalogue of the Sung dynasty which is also cited in our pages (see
Fig. 6) is the SJiao Hsing Ch'ien Ku Tu, ' Illustrated Mirror of Antiquities of the
Shao-hsing period (i 131-62),' which was published at Hangchou after the crossing
of the Sung dynasty to the south of the river Yangtsze. The standard work on jade
antiques is the Ku Yii Tu Fu, ' Illustrated Description of Ancient Jade,' in 100
books, which was compiled by an imperial commission in 1176, and circulated in
manuscript till 1779, when it was first printed by order of the emperor Ch'ien Lung.
The Ming dynasty was also distinguished for its school of antiquarians, but for an
account of some of their books we may venture to refer the reader to the sketch of
Chinese ceramic bibliography in our Oriental Ceramic Art (loc. cit., pp. 639-69).

Nature furnishes the motives of most of the other forms in our collection, either
directly or through the medium of bronze castings. There are brush-rests like
miniature ranges of hills, wine-cups and oil lamps like archaic dragons, handles of
vases shaped as fishes, as the heads of dragons and other monsters hung with rings,
&c. The wine-jars shaped in the forms of the elephant, rhinoceros, duck, and goose
are particularly remarkable ; the phoenix appears in Figs. 20, 40, 82, and in con-
nexion with the tortoise in Fig. 80. Some of the most charming forms are taken from
natural fruit and flowers, such as the melon-shaped wine-pot in Fig. 38, the gourd
forms in Figs. 36, 42, the palm-leaf vase in Fig. 29, the bamboo-shaped vase in
Fig. 31, the twin persimmon water-dropper in Fig. 10, and the rouge-pot shaped like a
single persimmon {D'lospyros shitze) in Fig. 43. The nelumbium lotus supplies artistic
designs for lamps in Figs. 81, 82, and there are two pretty floral wine-cups, one
(Fig. 49) fashioned in the form of a purple magnolia blossom, the other (Fig. 65) a
yellow chrysanthemum with green foliage.

With regard to technique, the older pieces have had their decoration incised in
the paste with a graving-tool or worked in the body in sensible relief before the

28 CHINESE PORCELAIN

application of the glaze. They owe their chief beauty to the lustrous depth, colour,
and sheen of the glaze with which the tooled decoration is clothed. The glaze is either
plain in texture ; or crackled with a reticulation of lines, wide, like starred ice {ping
wen), or fine and tniitde, like fish-roe [ym-fzu wen). The glaze is self-coloured, generally
of some shade of blue or purple, and derives its tint from a dosage of the cobaltiferous
mineral found in China. The pronounced green of the celadon w^are of the Lung-
ch uan potteries seems due to the cobaltiferous ore in the presence of iron, and the
purple aubergine colours of the Tingchou and Chilnchou potteries, as well as the rare
blue-black of the former locality, are to be attributed to the same protean mineral,
under changed conditions of flux or firing. The onty other monochrome of the
period, a soft white of ivor}' tone, is traced by the artist from its birth-place at
Tingchou to the Yuan dynasty, and so on to the reign of Yung-lo of the Ming.

After the reign of Yung-lo new methods of decoration appear on the scene.
The era of Hsilan-te is remarkable, we have seen, for its use of the two under-glaze
colours of the grand fen, copper-red and cobalt-blue. The red invests the piece
with a brilliant monochrome glaze of sang de banif tone ; or is combined with
green and brown glazes in a mixed colour scheme ; or is pencilled, like the blue,
on the raw paste, so that the lines of the decoration come out in rub}' red with
a white background. The cobalt, applied with a brush in the same way as the
red, and occasionall}^ (as in Fig. 58) on the same piece, ushers in the ' blue and
white ' decoration, which is destined to become in future da3^s such a signal triumph
of the Chinese potter. The rudiments of the technique had been probably brought
from Persia during the Yuan d3'nasty, when the same Mongol house ruled at
Baghdad and at Peking, but it was not until the reign of Hsuan-te that it
came to be deemed worth}' of notice among the artistic productions of the
Chinese brush.

The reign of Ch'eng-hua is always given the first place for the artistic arrange-
ment of its schemes of decoration in colours. A glance at Fig. 38 will give
a striking idea of its successful combination of glaze colours. But there is one
great drawback in this kind of polychrome decoration, which is that the body of
the porcelain is entirely hidden. It is only in the painted decoration of white
porcelain with enamel colours, in the style of a water-colour picture, that the soft
body tint of the material is allowed its proper art value. Just as jade provides
an inimitable bed for the inlay of jewels, so the jade-like surface of porcelain
makes a perfect background for the jewel-like enamels, which are now for the first
time brought into play. Their introduction into the ceramic field is unanimously
attributed by Chinese connoisseurs to this reign, and it is generally conceded that
the eftect of a clever decoration in the soft colours characteristic of the time appeals
more to an artist's eye than any other. The records say that the porcelain was
made at Ching-te-chen, under imperial patronage, of purest tone and eggshell
thinness, and that the designs were first painted on silk in the palace by the

INTRODUCTION 29

artists of the court to be sent down to the potters. The examples before us are
all wine-cups of varied form. In his description of the stemmed cup reproduced
in Fig. 55, which is painted round the sides with festoons of grapes, our artist
confesses himself fascinated with the delicacy and finish of the artistic colouring,
the grapes shining like clusters of amethyst beads in the midst of the shaded green
vine-leaves. One of the celebrated 'chicken cups' of the period is illustrated in
Fig. 64, and two wine-cups decorated with flowers and dragonflies in Figs. 59, 60.
These cups were already rare, costing, the artist tells us, as much as a hundred
taels of silver each ; and this estimate of their value is confirmed from other
sources, the emperor Wan-li (1573-1619), for instance, being reported to have
always had a pair of them on his dinner-table which were prized as worth 100,000
cash.

The close of the Ming dynasty was a time of luxury and extravagance; there
were even then china-maniacs in the land, and our artist is hardly free from the
soft impeachment. He declares that the censer of ruddy dawn tint melting in
the sun (Fig. 6), which the owner bought for three hundred taels, is well worth
a thousand ; and finds no fault with the general of the emperor's bodyguard for
buying from a chief eunuch a ruby-red wine-pot (Fig. 40) for 200 ingots of silver in
paper money, which would have been equal to /600 sterling had the paper
currency not been much depreciated at the time. But the occasional mention of
the cost of a piece is a test of its appreciation that we would not care to miss,
although it is time to close this lengthy introduction and to pass on to the book
itself, the full manuscript Chinese text of which is reproduced in the following
pages, as well as all the coloured illustrations.

For the careful and exact reproductions of the illustrations, executed so as
to convey something of the spirit and feeling of the original water-colours, we
are especially indebted to Mr. W. Criggs, the Director of the well-known chromo-
lithographic press at Peckham.

S. W. B.

ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION

OF THE

CELEBRATED PORCELAIN

OF

DIFFERENT DYNASTIES

M LI
f^ TAI
^ MING

TZ'U

T'U [gj

P'U S^

BY

HSIANG YUAN-FIEN

STYLED TZU CHING

P'lEN
YIN

Si

HSIANG

YUAN

Circa mdlxxv

PREFACE

In ancient times while Shun ^ was still living in the midst of the fields, he tilled
the ground, made pottery and fished, to gain his living; so that even before the
three ancient dynasties- the art of moulding clay was already practised. But very
many years have elapsed and his generation is so remote that it is to be feared
that no examples of his work can have survived.

Passing on to the Ch'm, Han, Wei, and Chin dynasties, we come to the first
mention of actual specimens of the craft ; as, for instance, the wine-cups of Chi
Shu-yeh^ and the wine-goblets of Hsii Ching-shan.* Later potters in their daily
work and monthly tale turned out a large variety of objects, down to the reign
of the house of Ch'ai,-' which was the first to become renowned for its ceramic
ware, although men of the present day search for mere fragments of the porcelain
without succeeding in finding them, and declare it to be but a phantom.

Next to the Ch'ai pottery, we have the productions of the kilns of Ju, Kuan,
Ko, and Ting following for inspection, till finally we come down to our own
reigning dynasty,*' and have before us porcelain of the periods of Yung-lo, Hsiian-te,
Ch'eng-hua, and Hung-chih. When these are compared with productions of the
kilns of the Sung dynasty, they are found even to surpass the latter, excelling
in the lines of their form as well as in the colours of their glaze.

Having acquired a morbid taste for refuse (literally ' scabs '), I delight in buying
choice specimens of the three dynasties of Snug,'' Yuan,^ and Ming, and in
exhibiting them in equal rank with the bells, caldrons, sacrificial dishes and wine-
vessels of bronze, dating from the three ancient dynasties,'' from the Ch'in '" and
the Han?'

' The Emperor Shun, whose reign is dated by
Chinese chronologers b. c. 2255-2206, is generally
credited with early improvements in the art of
pottery, although the invention of the potter's
wheel is attributed to his more fabulous prede-
cessor Huang Ti, the ' yellow emperor '.

^ The Hsia, Shang, and Chou dynasties.

' Chi K'ang, whose literary name was Shu-yeh,
lived A. D. 223-262, and is one of the seven sages
of the Bamboo Grove. A celebrated functionary
and scholar, he was equally renowned as a lover
of wine and music, and was devoted to the study
of alchemy.

' Hsu Mo, whose literary name was Ching-shan,
died in the year a.d. 249, and was officially
canonized. Secretary of a Board in the service

of the great Ts'ao Ts'ao, he was a contemporary
of Ts'ai Yung, the prince of convivial scholars,
and rivalled him in his love of wine-bibbing and
epicurean gaiety.

^ The After Chou dynasty, a. d. 951-960, when
the sovereign decreed that the porcelain made
for his use should be ' blue as the sky, clear as
a mirror, thin as paper, resonant as a musical
stone of jade'.

" The Ming dynasty, a. d. 1368- 1643.

' A. D. 960-1279.

° A. D. 1280-1367.

' B. c. 2205-256.

" B. C. 255-207.

" B. C. 206-A. D. 220.

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34 CHINESE PORCELAIN

With the aid of two or three intimate friends, meeting constantly da}' and
night for discussion and research, 1 have selected a series of pieces, which I have
actually seen elsewhere or which are in my own possession, and compiled this
album. I have painted the pictures in colours, and given the source of each one,
to preserve them from being lost and forgotten, and hoping to interest my esteemed
friends. Say not that my hair is scant and sparse and that I fondly appreciate
what is only fit for a child's toy !

Written by Hsiang Yuan-p'ien styled Tzu-ching native of Chia-ho.

The signature is attested by two vermilion seals in antique script : — above,
Hsiang Yitan-p'icn, i.e., 'Seal of Hsiang Yuan-p'ien'; below, Mo-lin shanjen', i.e.,
' A dweller in the hills at Mo-lin' a favourite literary title of the author.

Copied in the fifteenth year (a d. 1889) of the reign of Kuang-hsii of the Great
Ch'ing dynasty, being the cyclical year ssu-ch'ou, in the first decade of the peach
(third) month, by Li Teng-yuan, styled Shih-ch'uan, a retired scholar of Peking.

With two seals, inscribed Shih-ch'uan, and Teng-yuan Li chi.

35

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CONTENTS

SECTION I

Table of Contents

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Copy of an ancient Sacrificial Vessel of Wen Wang . i

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Copy of an ancient T'ao-fieh Sacrificial Vessel . . 2

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Copy of an ancient Sacrificial Vessel engraved with

cicada designs • • 3

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Ancestral Vessel with monsters' heads and band of scroll

design 4

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Incense Burner with loop handles and mammillated feet 5

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Antique Censer with fish-shaped handles decorated in

deep red with ruddy clouds melting in the sun at dawn 6

Hung-chih Yao of the Ming dynasty. Small Incense Burner shaped as an archaic 'oak

basket ' . . . 7

SECTION II

Table of Contents

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynastj'. Ink Palette inscribed with an augury of great peace . 8

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Ink Palette painted in blue with dragons . ... 9

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Water Dropper in the form of two persimmons coloured

deep red 10

Ko Yao of the Sung dynast}-. Brush Rest shaped as a mountain with five peaks . . 11

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty Water Pot of tazza shape with cover . 12

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water Pot engraved with cicada designs . ... 13

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water Pot for washing brushes of fluted form

with band of coiling silkworms 14

37

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38 CONTENTS

SECTION III

tablp: of contents

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynast}-. Brush Rest in the form of hills with a tall peak . . 15

LuNG-CH'iJAN Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water Pot with monster mask handles . . 16

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Quadrangular Vase with ringed monster-head handles . 17

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Sacrificial Jar with horned dragons ... 18
Ju Yao of the Sung dynasty. Trumpet-shaped Vase engraved with palm-leaves and scrolled

designs 19

Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small Jar moulded with two phoenixes as handles . . 20
Shu Fu Yao of the Yuan dynasty. Small Vase with garlic-shaped mouth ornamented with

designs light!}- tooled in the paste under the glaze 21

SECTION IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ju Yao of the Sung dj-nasty. Small rounded Beaker of old bronze design . ... 22
Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Hot-water Bottle with swelling garlic-shaped

mouth 23

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynast3^ Small quadrangular Vase to hold divining-rods . 24
Lung-ch'Ijan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Flower Receptacle with several mouths . . 25
Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Lobed Vase of hexagonal form .... 26
Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small Vase for a single flower .... 27
Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small Vase with two handles and bands of scrolled design 28
Lung-ch'ijan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Vase fashioned in the form of a whorl of palm-

leaves

Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Miniature Vase for one flower with finely engraved

decoration ...

29

30

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Blue-and -white Vase fashioned as a section of bamboo . 31

39

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CONTENTS

SECTION V
Table of Contents

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Jar modelled in the form of a hornless
rhinoceros

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Jar in the form of an elephant ....

Ju Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Ewer in the shape of a duck ....

Black Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Duck-headed Wine Vase

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Jar in the shape of a recumbent gourd

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine Jar in the shape of a goose painted in blue on a
white ground

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Melon-shaped Wine Pot decorated with coloured glazes

32
33
34
35
36

37
38

SECTION VI

Table of Contents

HstJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Elephant Jar painted in blue 39

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Deep red Wine Pot with phoenix-headed spout . . 40

Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Pot of flattened form decorated with floral scrolls 41

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Gourd-shaped Wine Pot with pale yellow ground . 42

Hsuan Yao of the Ming dynasty. Rouge Pot overspread with deep red ground . 43

Yi-HsiNG Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tea Pot of Kung Ch'un's make with 'transmutation '

pale brown body 44

Yi-HSiNG Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tea Pot of Kung Ch'un's make with ' transmutation '

vermilion red body • • • 45

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42 CONTENTS

SECTION VII

Table of Contents

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Pair of Tea Cups shaped as hibiscus flowers

enamelled pale yellow 4^

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Tea Cup shaped like a Buddha's hand citron ... 47

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Set of Tea Cups decorated in blue with dragon pines . 48

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine Cup simulating a crimson blossom of the

Magnolia Yiilan 49

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. A Sacrificial Cup with dragon's-head handle ... 50
Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Sacrificial Wine Vessel with grotesque dragon

scrolls 5^

Cheng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Libation Cup of plain rounded form .... 52

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Libation Cup decorated with scrolled designs ... 53

SECTION VIII

Table of Contents

HsuAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tazza-shaped Cup decorated in deep red with three fish 54

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tazza-shaped Cup decorated in enamel colours with

grapes 55

Hsuan Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tazza-shaped Cup painted in deep red with three pairs

of peaches 56

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Cup fashioned like a plaited willow basket • • • 57

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dj^nasty. Conical Wine Cup of archaic form painted in deep red 58

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Pair of little Wine Cups painted in ' five colours ' with

flowers and insects 59. 60

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Small bowl-shaped Wine Cup decorated in deep red

with three fish 61

YuNG-LO Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Small Eggshell Cup with dragons and phoenixes

engraved in the paste under the glaze 62

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dj'nasty. Flat-bottomed Cup painted in five colours with geese . 63

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Flat-bottomed Cup painted in five colours with chicken 64

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Small Wine Cup shaped like a chrysanthemum blossom

and decorated in colours 65

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Wine Cup shaped like the root of a tree painted in

colours 66

43

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44 CONTENTS

SECTION IX
Table of Contents

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine Vessel moulded in the form of two winged

monsters 67

LuNG-CH'tJAN Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Vessel with a transverse bowed handle

attached by chains engraved with four deer 68

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Sacrificial Vessel of archaic form decorated in blue and

white 69

HsOan Yao of the Ming dynasty. Palace Rice-Bowl decorated in deep red with three fish 70

Tung Ch'ing Tz'C of the Sung dynasty. Hexagonal Bowl for washing brushes, engraved

with floral scrolls 7^

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Dish for washing brushes, decorated in deep red with

pairs of fishes 72

HstJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Palace Dish decorated outside in deep red, with dragons

engraved in the paste underneath 73

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Shaped Saucer engraved with carved lacquer orna-
mentation 74

SECTION X

Table of Contents

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Round Box perforated through the middle, painted

in deep red 75

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Round Box for rouge decorated in enamel colours . 76

HstJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Relic Pagoda painted in five colours .... 77

Chun Yao of the Sung dynastj-. Dragon Oil Lamp 78

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Oil Lamp with a branched pedestal supported by

a clawed foot 79

Cheng-te Yao of the Ming dynast}*. Saucer-shaped Lamp with projecting handle supported

by phoenix and tortoise . 80

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Oil Lamp in the form of a Nelumbium lotus decorated

in enamel colours 81

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Pricket Candlestick with phoenix and lotus-blossom details 82

HsuAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Oil Lamp with four nozzles painted in blue with white

ground 38

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CONTAINING SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 1-7)
FIGURE 1

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Copy of an ancient Sacrificial Vessel of Wen Wang.

The sacrificial vessel (^uii^) was copied from a figure in the Hsitan ho Po ku fu^ and its
actual height and breadth are reproduced in our illustration. This vessel was shaped by the
potters of the imperial manufactory and the delicate lines of the carving are as fine as bullocks'
hair or floss silk. The vessel, moreover, stands perfectly upright and square, without leaning
a hair's breadth, and is exactly proportioned in every part. The glaze is perfectly lustrous
and translucent, like fine white jade of mutton-fat texture. It is truly a choice specimen of
Ting-chou porcelain, worthy to be placed first in a collection of sacrificial vessels from different
factories, and its equal, alas! is rarely to be seen in the present day. I was fortunate in being
able to see it in the

palace of the Prince ^ ^ ^ ^ ;^^ ii Jf^ f^

of Chm,-^ where It was ^-'^ ^^^^ ^

rCanMi/n-aS ^ ^C ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ *. ^

same wood, crowned ^Jjj, ^*f. ^ ifj u^ ^r. 't^ rti

with a lizard of moss- fj ^ C-i 1*3 /i'>) ^"^ -:I7 M^

green jade. J§ ^g /f ^ f. 4 ^ ifl

1 The well-known illus- *^ {"7 • 30 ^ ^% "^ "w "^^

trated catalogue of ancient
bronzes, compiled by _|« E.^ 'X^L T -> [^ "O" '^

Wang Fu early in the

twelfth century, and fre- -. .>, a, f

quently republished since. l|y _^__ -^P 3>^ -^ ^V 3-

* The finest white jade '■? -^ Vl ■9j\^

is often compared by the |_ t-^ ^ ^ ^^^ J^' i^7,

Chinese to mutton-fat or

lard, and the hard stone

is

till

soft and fluent.

' The palace of the
princes of Chin was at

f' t^ 1 ^ ^ ^K

Peking. They were the ■'rr jy^ j J-j Vrjn -Jb

lineal descendants of the J'^'Ll \ -^ "^^ ^ ^^

third son of the emperor ^ j_

Hung-wu, the founder of y^ j^^ Jct^ ^i^ '^t2 )1>

the IVIing dynasty, who tj ^ "TV" •^]

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IVIing dynasty
conferred the title on the
first prince in the third
yearofhisreign(A.D. 1370).
The titIeofJ-Ffl«^ (prince),
by the way, has been
omitted in our copy of
the Chinese text and
should be supplied as the

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fifth character in the last ^ />^^ » 1.0 ibj^ itT^

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FIGURE 2

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Copy of an ancient T'ao-fieli Sacrificial Vessel.

The vessel is copied frem a figure in the Hsiiait ho Po ku fii hi ' and its size and dimensions
are the same as those of our illustration. The body is fashioned in the form of three monstrous
ogres ^ (fao-fieh), the visages of which, with protruding eyes and frightful features, project
from each lobe, with the
details engraved and worked
in relief, as if limned by
an artist's brush. The
background of the ogres'
faces is filled in with scrolls,
etched as finely as silk or
hair. The colour of the
glaze is a pure delicate blue
of greyish tone, as clear and
transparent as a precious
sapphire.^ The whole sur-
face is marked with lines
resembling those of cracking
ice, and it is a most choice
example of the grand im-
perial ware of the time. This
piece also came from the
palace at Peking. I saw it
at Nanking, in the house of
the governor of the city, Chu
Hung, grand tutor of the
emperor.

' The imperial catalogue of an-
cient bronzes (see note to Fig. i).

" The fao-t'ieh is the gluttonous
ogre which haunts forests and wild
places, a frequent motive of deco-
ration of ancient Chinese bronzes.

' Ya kit eliding, or ch'iiig ya ku,
is the old name of the sapphire, or
blue corundum, which is now com-
monly called in China Ian pao s/iih
(blue precious stone). It is derived
from the Arabic and Persian _j'rt/i'«/.
(Cf Bretschneider's Mediaeval Re-
searches from Eastern AsiaticSources, - . 17
vol. i, p. 174.) 7yA VJl2

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FIGURE 3

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Copy of an ancient Sacrificial Vessel engraved
with cicada designs.

This sacrificial vessel (ting) was copied
from a figure in the K'ao ku fu} the height
and dimensions being the same as in our
illustration. The form is distinguished and
the decoration is artistically executed, hand-
ing down the style and spirit of the three
ancient dynasties. The colour of the glaze
is a warm purple, clear and deep like
the tint of ripe grapes, delightful in its
brilliant lustre. Among the productions of
the Ting-chou kilns white glazes form the
great majority, the purple and black glazes
being comparatively rare, so that a fine
piece of the purple variety like this is very
seldom seen. I bought it myself for ten
taels of silver at the capital from a curio
dealer's stall in the Pao Kuo Ssu.^

1 The K'ao ku Vn, ' Illustrated Examination of
Antiquities,' in ten books, was written \>y Lii Ta-lin,
and the first edition was published in 1092. It is
often printed as an appendix to the Po ku fu lu, the
imperial catalogue of bronzes referred to above.

- Pao Kuo Ssu, ' State Protecting Temple,' is
a large Buddhist temple in the southern or Chinese
city of Peking. Fairs are still held in its courtyards
on certain holidays, at which the dealers exhibit
their wares for sale to throngs of visitors. This
temple is famous for a remarkable image of Kuan-
yin, decorated in coloured glazes, which is attributed
to the Sung dynasty. (Cf. Bushell's Oriental Ceramic
Art. p. 131.)

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FIGURE 4

Ting Yao oi the Sung dynasty. Ancestral
Vessel with monsters' heads and band of scroll
design.

The sacrificial vessel (yi) was copied from the
figure of a bronze casting by Chiang of the T'ang
dynasty.' The height and dimensions are repro-
duced in our illustration. The technique and form
of the vessel are most artistic and the engraving is
of sufficient depth to stand wear and tear. The
glaze is clear white, pure and stainless, like fine
jade of mutton-fat grain, and it is worth preserving
as a beautiful ornament for a scholar's library. This
is an ancient piece handed down in my own family,
which has been kept for generations in a cabinet,
and is now taken out to be illustrated here to give
pleasure to my esteemed friends.

> The Tang dynasty flourished from a.d. 6i8 to a. d. 906.
I know nothuig of Chiang as a worker in bronze of the period,
nor of any book illustrated with his models. We shall find
him quoted again in the description of Figs. 16, 25. It will be
noticed that the character for T'ang in the Chinese text has been
replaced by Yuan— a mistake of the copyist.

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FIGURE 5

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Incense Burner with loop handles and mammil
lated feet.

The incense - burner {In) '^ ^ ^^ ^, JL. A ^

copied from the figure of a bronze /L^ flj ,Uy Ju "S" ^

cast in the T'ien-pao ' factory ^r -y ,jj >^.

under the T'ang dynasty. It is -^ i^x ^^ t^ £^ f/A^ !^

drawn after its actual height and ' i ^r ^ .-; -^ ^

dimensions in our illustration. The ^ ^ji- ^ J^ ^ y'g '^

form is antique and the glaze, ot ^ ^^

good colour, is bright and attractive. -^^ ^i^ y^U j^ ^

during the T'ien-pao period . . __

2 The reign of HsiJan-te (1.426-35) of the ^ ,

Ming dynasty, famous for its bronzes. The "H^ W^ A]^ ^n "il^

story goes that there was a great fire in the -^ ^ v

palace at the time, the ruins of which sup- ^ ^ -rr- ^ ^^

plied a fortuitous mine of alloy of inimitable f^N» "'^ -T^ -^T 1^1

quality. ^^^

= An old name of Su-chou-fu, one of the ^J^ -^ Zrf~ _<^ -^j

principal cities of the province of Kiangsu. v"^ VO ^^T^

y&

Besides, the particular class of mam- "" 'j' "^''* ^^ "^ '^ "^

millated incense-burners is ranked jjj^ ^ ^jV -j^ ,|7 r^

first among sacrificial vessels gene- '^^ r-l * ' f % I

rally, so that most of the makers e ^^^ 44- "^ A Jf-

of bronze censers in the reign of ^"^^ y^ ^ J ''-' ^

Hsuan- preferred this shape and _^.^, ,^ 5^ ^t _j^

adopted it as their pattern. The W "^ ^ ^^ ^ ^'-

colour of the glaze is a purplish ^ , „ .f

blue of grey tone, fissured with a ^^ 4v ^ "^ .^A^ >7.

reticulation of ice-like cracks, and ^^ ^ ,

it is a piece of great beauty. For gi_ )-0 /^ ^ L. -^

a place on the table in the library ♦ l. ^ ^

to burn offerings of fragrant incense /^J_ j^ _^ :^ ^

it is truly an object to be treasured -^

by a man of culture. I saw it at '^^ fl^ ^pf^ ^ S/

Ku-su- in the collection of Chang ♦

Chiu-chang. /^ :Z M~ ^ <t\>

1 The T'ien-pao Chu referred to was

probably a factory founded in the palace _^ ij :^ "^^ »J^.

during the T'ien-pao period (a. D. 742-55). ^ <!_* N^ ^ ^

FIGURE (I

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Antique Censer with lisli-shapcd handles decorated in
deep red with ruddy clouds melting in the sun at dawn.

The form of the sacrificial incense burner was copied from a design figured in the Shao
lising Chicn kit fit} The upper part of the surface outside is filled in with deep red* of brilliant
tint like ruddy dawn clouds, the lower part of the swelling bowl and the foot is glazed white,
pure as driven snow. The red and white,"' where they meet, melt into each other, so as to
dazzle the eyes, and it is truly the very crown of our collection of celebrated porcelain of
diflferent dynasties. The whole body is strewn with faint tubercles, like grains of millet ; it
is really a precious jewel of a rare epoch. I saw it at the southern capital,* in the house of
His Excellency Chu Hsi-
hsiao, the governor of the

city, who told me that it J| ^ ^J ^^ 'M ^ M^
origmally came from the im- /xi** ^^^i— « •■ ^->- y>,

perial palace, having been _^ Vi -^ "^ -f" iS M ^

given out to one of the "J ♦vs J tj ^^ -^ >7^

princes as part of his monthly ^ i^ -f- n^ t. ^X- -^ ^J

allowance, and that he him- ^ ^ ^ T^ "^^ ^% ^^ ^^
self bought it afterwards for ^ , - J^^r OJ 4^ Hr M^ -$;

three hundred taels of silver. -M^ -V\ ;ep '^ii-' 1 H .--^ ^U^ *^

In the present day a thou- ^ ^ ^ )^ ^ X X^ ^^

sand taels of silver might fT^ JJ-^ 'T ^ J 3 "i^ .T<c2 ^

be offered for another with- ■»■ ti ->- -ft, -^ {flj -^^

out succeeding in finding it. 7^ ^ _/f^ ^ ^,X. £j -^

^ yh M ^J^ ^

The IHiisI rated Minor of An-

T^ ^ Jp ^ ^ ft^

tiqiiities, a collection of ancient T ' -^ ^^

bronzes, published during the Sung .^p j^ ;EX^ "^ "^ -^

dynasty in the Shao-hsing period J >0 9 '^^*^ "^^ ■^

(a. D. 1 131-62).

Th^y of ./«-/«<«.Oiterally. f.C >i^ ^ F|, if^ ^ -§ ^

issed red, is more correctly '^4 -<-~-^ ^ ■* <-~i __

' massed

written with another character,

written with another character, ^ ^ * ^j_ 3^, 1

meaning ' sacrificial '. It was first *. "y^^ -^/^^ ,?S~' ■^f^ Is \

used for the sacrificial cups made ^^ '"^

Z f # >lf a IX .^<

■y # * -f ;l *] ^

^ ^ ^ ^ >« -<L |;

tional, or whether the whiteness T^ ^ -«?" ^j: 'T> ^"P ^J^

was an accidental result of the « tj ^ J ^* * I" '-^ >^.

firing of the piece. In the latter j^ _-- ,. .^i »i iS/i

case the vessel would have been Jc_ .^r ^^ "H \; ^-P- i'":^

fired upside down. It is not un- /

for the emperor Hsuan-te's wor
ship of the sun, which were
coloured a brilliant crimson of sang
de bmtf tone, due to proto-silicate
of copper permeating a glaze rich
in silica.

" It would be interesting tn know
whether this condition was inten

common to find a sang de baiif\iis&
with the upper part white where
the copper has been dissipated in
the fire.
' Nanking.

^ ^ -^ Xt v:^ ^

FIGURE 7

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Small Incense
Burner shaped as an archaic ' oak basket '.

The incense-burner [ting] was copied from a figure in
the Hsiian ho Po ku fu^ and its height and dimensions are
the same as those of our illustration. It has two upright
handles (literally 'ears'), four feet, and a movable cover.
The colour of the glaze is yellow, of the tint of boiled
chestnuts. In form and decoration of antique artistic beauty,
it is specially suitable for a place on the altar, ready for
lighting offerings of fragrant incense. I got it for my own
collection at Wu-men, from the cell of the bonze- Hu-ch'iu.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes, published in the Sung
dynasty, cited under Fig. i.

' The word 'bonze', a common name for a Buddhist monk in the east,
is derived from the Japanese.

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SECTION II

CONTAINING SF.VEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. S Hi

FIGURK 8

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Ink Palette inscribed with an augury of great peace.

The ink-palette {ye}t) was copied from the form of a palette used by the emperor in the
Hsuan Ho Tien,' and it is reproduced in its actual size in our illustration. The outline is
like that of a vase with loop handles at the sides, which are perforated for strings to hang
the palette on the wall. The upper surface of the palette has in the middle an oval depression,
like the pit of a water-palette, where the paste is exposed, having been left unglazed to adapt
it better for rubbing the cake of ink. The result is as fine and rich a liquid ink as could
be produced by the use of Tuan ^ stone, so that the two materials are to be valued equally.
The bottom of the palette (which is also figured) is etched with the t'ai hexagram and with
an elephant [hsimig] underneath. The shape of the palette, being that of a vase (p'mg),
completes the ' rebus ' T'ai fhig yu hsiang, ' an augury of great peace,' which gives its
name to the palette. The colour of the glaze is a greyish blue, crackled throughout
with lines like ice cracks. Its archaic style and unusual pattern make it truly a precious
object for the

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water-pot

which follows,

I obtained this

palette at Ku-

ang-ling,3

the collection

ofHsuCh'ien- 4* ^

period (a. d. 1119-

-25)-

'■' The best ink-
stones come from /iQ ri^ A-V — "c •^i >>-^ Aii^ t. -

Tuan-ch'i, in the 1"^ :gL >^^ ^ >S^ V^ -C M

prefecture of
Shao-ch'ing, in
Kuangtung pro-
vince.

^ An old name
of Yang-chou-fu,
in the province of
Kiang-su.

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FIGURE !»

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty.
Ink Palette painted in blue with
dragons.

A small ink-palette (vf«) fashioned
after the design of a jade palette u.sed
by the emperor in the Hsuan-ho
palace,^ drawn of the size of the
original in our illustration. The
glaze is as white as driven snow,
pencilled all round the sides with
dragons delicately drawn. Each of
the two sides of the bod}' displays
a five-clawed dragon painted in blue
outline, stretching out its neck into
the midst of scrolled clouds. The
whole surface rises into faint millet-
like elevations, the bright blue of the
decoration is as intense as congealed
ink, and it is really a beautiful and
desirable specimen. An inscription
in six characters, Ta Ming Hsi'ian tc
nien chili,- is pencilled in blue under-
neath, in good antique stj'le. I ac-
quired it, with the ' augury of great
peace' palette just described,^ from
the collection of Hsu Ch'ien-chai.

' See note to Fig. 8.

"^ ' Made in the reign of Hsuan-tL- (a. d.
1426-35) of the Great Ming (dynasts).'
' Illustrated in Fig. 8.

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risiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Water Dropper
in the form of two persimmons coloured deep red.

The water-dropper {s/itti c/iii) was fashioned after
the design of an ancient piece of the same kind
moulded in bronze. It is composed of a pair of
persimmons ' hanging together from a leafy twig, and
the twig is perforated along its length to make a spout
for dropping water on the palette. The colour of
the red glaze is like fresh blood, rising into millet-
like elevations, the leaves are green, the stalk is
brown, exactly like the colouring of a water-colour
picture of Hsii Ch'ung-ssu,- or one of his fellow artists,
copied from nature. It is a rare jewel for the orna-
ment of a scholar's library. I acquired it for my
own collection, in company with the two preceding
ink-palettes, from Secretary Hsu.

' The Diospyros shitze of botanists, a tree cultivated for its
fruit throughout the north of China.

' A clever artist of the tenth centurj', who painted fruit,
flowers and insects. (Cf Giles's Chinese Pictorial Art, p. 93.)

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FIGURE 11

Ko Vao of the Sung dynasty. Brush Rest
shaped as a mountain with five peaks.

The brush-rest {yen shan\ was copied from a
bronze brush-rest of the Han ' dynasty, and its
dimensions are the same as those of our illustration.
A miniature range of hills with a central peak and
four lesser elevations, the precipitous sides and deep
valleys are car\'ed in the style of a landscape sketch
by the old artist of genius Wang Tzu-chiu. The
glaze is purpHsh-blue in colour, crackled throughout
with a network of ice-like cracks. Of antique form
and lustrous colour, it forms an ideal rest for the
brushes of a caUigraphist. I saw it at the house of
my fellow citizen Yao, member of the Imperial
Academj'.

' The Han dynasty flourished from b. c. 206 to a. d. 220.

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FICURK 1-2

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water
Pot of tazza shape with cover.

The water-pot (shut c/i'e'ng) was copied from a
figure in the K'ao ku fti} and its various dimensions
are reproduced in our illustration. The colour of
the glaze is a bright jade-like green, of the delight-
fully fresh tint of damp moss or young pendent
willow twigs. The cover and swelling bowl are
worked all round with floral designs which stand
out in strong relief, instinct with life as in a painted
picture. When the bowl is filled with water there
is a cover to be placed on the top to keep out dust
and prevent rats stealing the contents, so that it is
eminently fitted for daily use. I acquired it at
Wu-chiang '^ from the collection of Li Hsueh-po.

' The ' Illustrated Examination of Antiquities ' of the eleventh
century, cited in a note under Fig. 3.

^ A city of the third rank in the prefecture of Suchoufu,
province of Kiangsu.

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FIGURE 13

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water Pot
engraved with cicada designs.

The water-pot (shut cli'eng) was copied from
a figure in the Shao hsing Chicn ku fu^ and its
various dimensions are reproduced in our illustra-
tion. The colour of the glaze is a greyish blue,
fissured with a reticulation of ice-like cracks. The
form and decoration are of studied elegance, finished
but not too elaborate, it is somewhat simple in its
depressed outline, but carried out in lines handed
down from clever craftsmen of the Han and Wei -
dynasties. At the same time as the purple Ting-
chou water-pot decorated with coiling silkworms
figured next, I purchased this one from a dealer
in antiquities at Wu-ling.^

' Cited in a note to Fig. 6.

'^ The Han and Wei dynasties reigned from r. c. 206 to

A. D. 264.

' Prefecture Ch'ang-te-fu in the province of Hunan.

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FIGURE 14

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water
Pot for washing brushes of fluted form with band
of coiling silkworms.

The water-pot (s/iui cli'cng) was copied from the
design of a many-lobed washer of bronze of the Han'
dynasty and its various dimensions are reproduced in
our illustration. The colour of the glaze is a bright
purple, resembling the fruit of the aubergine- plant,
of delightful brilliancy and sheen. Besides the
studied elegance of the form, the details are worked
out in the stj'le of a skilful craftsman of the Han
or Wei dynasty. It is provided with a coral spoon,
and mounted on a carved rosewood stand to display
its refined beauty. I acquired it together with the
preceding piece at Wu-ling.

' B. c. 206-A. D. 220.

'^ The egg-apple, called also brinjal, or the egg-plant, is the
produce of the Solamiin nielongeita. The ceramic colour is
derived from the cobaltiferous ore of manganese found in many
parts of China, hence its common name of manganese purple.

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SECTION III

CONTAINING SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 16-211

FIGURE 15

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Brush
Rest in the form of hills with a tall peak.

The brush-rest (yen shan\ is figured after
the lines of its original size in our illustration.
The precipitous peak is carefully modelled
with its prominences and hollows in strong
contrast, after the style of a landscape picture
in gold and green of the famous General
Li.^ The glaze is blue, as bright as the
vitex-tinted= azure sky, crackled throughout
with ice-like lines of varied length. The
antique tint and lustrous glaze excel even
those of the Ko Yao brush-rest which was
illustrated in Fig. ii. I bought it for twenty
taels of silver at the capital (Peking), from
the collection of Hsin, the Secretary of the
Grand Secretariat.

' Li Ssu-hsun, a great grandson of the founder of
the T'ang dynasty. He was made a general in 713,
but was more famous as the greatest landscape painter
of his age, and especially as the founder of the
Northern School of Chinese Art, the chief charac-
teristic of which seems to have been its brilliant
colouring. (Cf. Giles's Chinese Pictorial Art, p. 42.)

* The Vitex incisa, the ' sky-blue flower ' of the
Chinese, is a flowering shrub which grows wild on
the hillsides of northern and central China. The tint
of its flowers approaches that of the forget-me-not.

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FIGURE Ki

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Water
Pot with monster mask Iiandles.

The water-pot (sliui cJieng) was fashioned very
cleverly after the design of a bronze casting by
Chiang of the T'ang' dynasty. The colour of the
glaze is a bright green like nephrite jade, which in
translucency and lustre almost rivals the productions
of the imperial and Ko kilns of the time. The form
and size are not extravagant, and it is a most desirable
acquisition for the library of a scholar. I found it
myself at Yi-hsing-hsien - in the cell of the Buddhist
monk Shan-chuan.

' The T'ang dynasty flourished a. u. 618-906.

- A city near Shanghai, which is chiefly famous for its reddish
stonewares, the kind l^nown to us from a Portuguese word as
boccaro ware (see Figs. 44, 45).

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FIGURE 17

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Quadrangular Vase with ringed monster-head handles.

Tiie quadrangular vase (fang liu) was copied from a figure in the Hsiian ho Po ku
f'u Ih^ and its various dimensions are reproduced in our illustration. The body of the
vase is perfectly square and upright, without a hair's breadth irregularity, or any leaning to
either side. The colour of the glaze is a pale fresh blue, reticulated with ice-like crackle,
and it is a celebrated specimen oif the imperial ware of the time. This vase came
from the collection of

Kuo Ch'ing-lo, who i ^*^ + -^ 4- 1^ 1^1 ^

originally bought it "ai ^^ I KJ ^ ^ I5?4 22

for fifty taels of silver, _ x^ ,.^ L,,g -r J£^ Xi^ /jJ '-^

although it had then ^ ^ ^4 % "t fl '^ ^ ^

no cover. Ch'ing-lo g tl^ > ^ '^', ^^ A "^ "7

happening to go out ^ 1^ ^ ^l^ -f p '^ 5^ ^ &

fishing one day, found ' •>>' ^ ^ V ^idj " •'^^

in the boat a cover "^ '^ -<- -^ ^ >J<w >!£ ^^ -^

which had been pulled ^ ,^ ,^ ^ ^

up in the boatman's X Kj ^ ^\ ^t .^ ^ +^ ^

net, and bought it for ^.^ _,__^ ^^

ten strings of ' cash '.- ^ ^ Jg. Jl, '|<^ ^n" "^ "^ ^
When he reached

home again he placed ^ ^ /& ^A ,^ )^ \S\ ^

it on the vase and it ''^ j_

was really the original :^ Jl- -j^ V>4 'g' J^- ^ :jZ

cover. There is an ode

written by Ch'ing-lo in t^, ,^ ^^ ^ if /"f 4?

commemoration of this ""*" '^-^i-^ "*■ ^ '

incident. Iwaspermit- /.. ,^ ^i^ -h \4» ^ ^^

ted once to examine f /'J" <3'jJ ' I ''^ O'-^

the piece, and have not i_ ^ ^ /^ ^ ^'' "^

forgotten it to-day. ^ J^ .rf^ ^i> "^^ 'Vv ^^

Now that Ch'ing-lo ,t^ ^ '^l i4 7 ^^t^ Af

has passed away, I ^^ ^^ J^^ ^ ^ m ^^

know not who has ,^ ^^ i: ^17 . - -^^j-

become the owner of P ^ ?H 'ii^ ^ ^l/^ f^

the vase. , ^„ .^^ ^ .^ _,

-^ :f ^ T^j jiL> i^'] /v^

1 The catalogue of an- y^v -^ -^-. -^^ itL^ -<^ -^^

cient bronzes cited under ,

''? A stnngofa thousand ^^ ^ ^^ "^ '^ ^^"^ ^^ ^

^ ifj 4h ^ M^ >>^ '^^

cash is equivalent to about . r\. ^

a tael of silver

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I-'IGLRE 18

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Sacrificial Jar with horned dragons.

The sacrificial jar {hu) was copied from a
figure in the Hsilan ho Po kii fn lu^ and its
original dimensions are reproduced in our
illustration. The outHnes of the design are
antique and distinguished, the colour of the
glaze is a warm purple, like grapes ripened
in the sun, beautifully clear and lustrous.
As a receptacle for flowers on the dinner
table it would really be an acquisition of the
highest class. I saw it formerly in the palace
of the Prince of Chiang-yu, where they could
not remember its source, and I sketched the
picture with the greatest care, in order to
submit it afterwards for the appreciation of
my learned friends.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited
under Fi^. i.

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FIGURE in

]v Yao of the Sung dynasty. Trumpet-sliaped Vase engraved with pahn-leaves and
scrolled designs.

The trumpet-shaped vase {ku) was copied from a sacrificial wine-vase figured in the Ilsiian
ho Po ku t'n lu^ and its several dimensions are given in our illustration. Very few productions
of the Ju-chou kilns have come down to our time, and those that have are mostly platters, cups,
and the like. These are, besides, generally cracked and imperfect, so that a fine perfect piece
like this vase, with no crack even as minute as a hair or thread of silk, is rare indeed.
Moreover the old wine-jars
known as kn and tsun- are
most excellent receptacles
for flowers, and no other
shapes can compete with
them for this purpose. In
its form, technique, and in
the colour of its glaze, this
vase surpasses any produc-
tion of the imperial {kitan)
or Ko kilns of the period,
and it is not surprising that
its value should be corre-
spondingly high. I saw it
when I was at the capital
(Peking), in the collection of
Huang,^ a general of the
emperor's bodyguard, who
told me that he had bought
it for 150,000 ■* ' cash ' from
Yun Chih-hui.

1 The imperial catalogue of an-
cient bronzes, cited under Fig. i.

'^ The ku vases are hornlike, with
tall, slender, graceful bodies and
flaring mouths; the tsun are fash-
ioned in more or less similar lines,
but are more squat and solid, so
that their diameter sometimes
exceeds their height.

' Three other notable pieces in
the same collection are illustrated
in our album as Figs. 40, 59, and 60.

■• The copper ' cash " of China has
varied in value at different times, but
the normal rate of exchange is 1,000
for a tael, or Chinese ounce of silver,
so that the above would roughly
represent about /50 sterling.

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FIGURE 211

Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small Jar moulded with two phoenixes as handles.

This wine-jar {fstcji) is modelled
after a design from some unknown
source, or perhaps after the original
fancy of the potter; yet the form is of
classical stj'le, and the work has been
executed b}' no common hand, so that
its maker must have been a scion ot
some noted line of antecedent crafts-
men. The productions of the Chiin-
chou kilns are generally ranked by
connoisseurs below those of the other
factories of the Sung dynasty, but this
jar with its well-modelled form and
beautiful colour, as well as from being
so well adapted to hold flowers, is
worthy of being placed on the shelf
of the cabinet with any collection of
specimens from the Ju, Kuan, Ko, or
Ting potteries. Underneath the foot
of the jar the character ivii, ' five,' is
found engraved as a numeral ' mark '
— an evidence that it is, without any
doubt, really a Chun-chou piece.' I
am at present myself the fortunate
possessor of this jar.

' We arc told by Chinese ceramic writers
that it was the usual practice of the Chiin-
chou potters to incise in the paste before the
piece was glazed one or two numerals. If
more than one such occur it is the same
numeral repeated, being first incised under-
neath, and again on some part of the upper
surface of the shaped dishes for flowering
narcissus bulbs, for example, which are the
finest specimens of Chun-chou ware extant.

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FIGURE 21

Shu Fu Yao of the Yuan dynasty.
Small Vase with garlic-shaped mouth
ornamented with designs lightly tooled
in the paste under the glaze.

Under our own dynasty the pure
white porcelain of the reign of Yung-
lo^ and Hsuan-te," with ornamental
designs faintly engraved under the
glaze, was all copied from the S/in Fn
Yao,^ and the Shu Fu Yao itself was
modelled after the Ting-chou porcelain
of the Northern Sung dynasty .'' This
vase [p'ing) has its peculiar shape, its
white-toned glaze, and its engraved
decoration, all alike copied from the
Ting-chou ware. Underneath the foot
of the vase the two characters shit f a,
' imperial palace,' are lightly engraved
under the paste as a ' mark '. The
form and size of the vase are exactly
suitable for the decoration of a small
dinner-table with a few sprays of
herbaceous flowers, such as narcissus,
begonia, golden lily, or dwarf chrys-
anthemum. This piece also stands
now in my own study.

' A. D. 1403-1424.

= A.D. I426-I435.

' Shu Fu was the name of the imperial
palace during the Yuan d^masty (a.d. 1280-
1367I, so that the name Shu Fu Yao indicates
' ware made for the use of the palace '. The
affiliation of the art of engraving the several
classes of white porcelain, as traced out
above, is interesting and convincing.

' A.D. 960-1126.

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SECTION IV

CONTAINING 'IK.N ILLUSTRATIONS (FIOS. 22-31)

FIGURE 22

Ju Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small rounded Beaker of old bronze design.

The beaker-shaped vase {kn) was

fashioned after the figure of a sacri- JP j[iH, j^l 7^ > M'i^

ficial vessel in the Hsi'ian ho Po kii Cu^ -^

and its several dimensions are repro- P'^ -flfj* ^ ^ yjr- yfp^r ^

duced in our illustration. I have said 1 * 4 -f .A^ yq\,

already (in the description of Fig. 19) ^ nO- jJC ,7^ ''iT i-t' ^Jj-

that the productions of the Ju-chou ' ^^ T "^ -— '^

kilns comprise mainly platters and -^ f^ ^j^ yT ^ <.^ rf-r-

cups, and that other pieces are very ^'^^ " '"■ -^ "^^ < "^
rare indeed. So that this vase with its
finished form and finely-tinted glaze

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should be ranked even above the .> -^ j, ,>-» j^ j. .^

several productions of the imperial and "^ p<\ '"O & -IKZ, "a )j&j

'^ -f Mu ^ A li ^ft^

|)K ^ tt 4 i^

Ko kilns of the time. Moreover the ^jl^ -^ ^, ,.-j{» ^j,

colour of the glaze is of the sky-blue

shade of the vitex flower, and the

whole surface has nowhere a single

hair of crackling, so that it is indeed ^^ ^^

a rare example of the ceramic ware of | ^ l -^ !^ 2 ^C

Ju-chou of almost unique interest. It

is well worthy of a place beside the ■J^ '^;^ -<^ >WL» .^

slender trumpet-shaped vase engraved

with scrolled designs and palmations, Jl. ^ J^ ^ tT

which was illustrated in the preceding ^ "'' ■*

section of the album (Fig. 19), and is to ^^ ■»!» ^jrn ^^ >•<

be classed with the latter as a recep- • ' J / n<

tacle for flowers of the most recherche "JpT ^ ft Aj' Jr

kind. I saw it at Wu-men - in the ^^-^ ^

house of the high official Shen Wen- ^

ting. »"»

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes
cited under Fig. i.

^ One of the quarters of the city of Shao-
hsing-fu, in the province of Kiangsu. ^ r*^^^ «^ ^t 1 -^

f 't 1. ^'J tt

FIGURE 2:5

Lung-ch'Oan Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Hot-water Bottle with swelling garlic-shaped
mouth. I

The hot-water bottle {zvcn Iiu) was copied
from a figure in the Hsi'tan ho Po kn fit hi,^
and its several dimensions are reproduced in
our illustration. In cultured circles for hold-
ing flowers the hot-water bottles and the club-
shaped vases - are the two kinds most highly
esteemed as receptacles for the Mutan tree
paeony, for the herbaceous paeony, and for
varieties of orchids, because the mouths of
these vessels are small, so that when filled
with water they allow no bad smell to escape.
This bulbous-necked bottle is a case in point.
The glaze is bright green, of the tint of fresh
onion-sprouts, so that the colour is as beauti-
ful as the form is classical. The vase has
long been in constant use on the dining-table
of our own ancestral home.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes so often
cited (see Fig. i).

- Literally bulrush beaters {p'li c/i'iii), resembling the
club-shaped wooden mallets used by Chinese washer-
women to beat clothes against rocks or boulders at the
riverside.

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FIGURE 24

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small
quadrangular Vase to hold divining-rods.

Small divining-rod vases ^ are considered by
connoisseurs to constitute a most suitable form for
holding flowers. This vase ip'ttig) is of medium size,
and exactl}' adapted for flowers on the writing-table
beside the ink-palette. Moreover the colour of the
glaze is a bright purple of warm lustrous tone, so
that it stands out among the several pieces of purple
Ting-chou ware as a fine specimen of surpassing
beauty. It is in the collection of my younger brother
Kung An.

• Divining-rods are made of twigs of the Acliillea sibirica,
a tree vvhicli is still cultivated in the grounds of the tomb of
Confucius in the province of Shantung. The conventional form
of the vessel containing them is quadrangular, with two of the
eight trigrams of ancient divination worked in relief on each of
the four sides of the vase, separated by the circularjv/»^'rt«^ sym-
bol of light and darkness. The peculiar ornamentation of the
vase in the illustration suggests a degradation of such symbolical
designs into a merely geometrical pattern. The original form is
still a favourite one in the imperial potteries of Ching-te-chen
to-day, which send up to the Palace at Peking square vases with
the symbols worked in the paste in salient relief, invested with
manganese purple, turquoise crackle, or 'robin's egg' glazes.

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FIGURE 25

LuNG-cu 'iJAN Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Flower Receptacle with several mouths.

The receptacle for flowers {Ima tiang) was
copied from a design for a casting in bronze
by Chiang of the T'ang dynasty,' and is
a form of rare occurrence, extremely con-
venient for holding several varieties of flowers,
such as the different kinds of roses, as they
blossom in due season, and are placed on the
altar on ceremonial anniversaries. This little
vase filled with flowers on such occasions
affords a delightful show of colour and diffuses
an exquisite fragrance, so that it deservedly
ranks high. Besides, the colour is a bright
green - like the plumage of a parrot, crackled
throughout with Hnes like fissured ice, so that
it is a rare specimen of the ceramic ware of
Lung-ch'iian. It is now in our own city, in
the temple Chi Hsiang An, being in constant
use at the shrine Wu Huan Lao Shan.

' A. D. 618-906. It IS interesting to have these many-
necked flower-vases traced back so far in China, as the
curious form is not uncommon in the ceramic produc-
tions of Persia and the Near East.

^ The glaze of these potteries during the Sung
dynasty was a brighter green than that of later times,
and is often likened to the grass-green tint of fresh
onion-sprouts. The celadon ware of the Ming period
from the same potteries is a greyer tone of sea-green,
and is like the skin of the Chinese olive, a species
of Canarium.

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FIGURE 26

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Lobed
Vase of hexagonal form.

The vase (fitig) is designed from some unknown
source, but the form is thoroughly classical, and its
dimensions are well adapted for ordinary use. The
colour of the glaze resembles the tint of a fresh
green cucumber. The six-lobed outline with vertical
indentations make up a solid form designed to stand
firmly on a small table, ready to be filled with
Loyang ' rock-grown chrysanthemums, or some
similar herbaceous flowers. I bought this vase for
my own collection in the market-place at Huai-yin.^

' Tlie name of an old capital oi' China, corresponding to the
modern Ho-nan-fu.
' An old name of Huai-aii-i'u, in the province of Kiangsu.

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FIGURES 27. 28

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Small Vase for a single flower. 27.

The vase {p'wg) is not much more than an inch high, yet its finished technique and
form and its bright green colour combine to make it a beautiful object in a collection of small
pieces, a charming receptacle for a small flower like a dwarf orchid, a balsam, or a sprig of
jasmine. In company with the little Ting-chou vase engraved with two scrolled bands which
follows, this one has

long been installed y^ ^^ :^ -^ j_j. ^^ j^^

as a jewel in my own
cabinet. , . _r-r a, -tj .j; "T ri^

Ting Yao of

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the Sung dynast}-. ' ^ j^ __^ ^ ^ ^c

Small Vase with two ^ '^ '*■* /^ r ^^^ J^r ^^|_j

fat, without the least

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in my own cabinet -•-; fta- _ -■'A i* ^i?

collection. »''] »w TO ^»<. '^•^ "

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handles and bands of
scrolled design. 28.

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two handles,^ about ' ^^ ^

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band of scroll en-
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the vase. The colour ^ j^g ^ X^ 0 ^Q >^
of the glaze is as _j^ >^^ ^ *.
white as congealed ;J> ,^ 6'] ^ <^ 7 I— >

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FIGURE 2!>

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Vase fashioned in the form of a whorl of palm-
leaves.

The palm-ieaf vase [chiao yeh finty) is
designed from some unknown source, so that
the body is of unique form. The leaves are
arranged on every side so as to leave a hollow
space in the centre, forming a kind of tube
mto which water can be poured, and it
makes an ideal receptacle for cut flowers. The
leaves and the culm are coloured in darker
and lighter shades of green to distinguish the
upper and lower surfaces of the foliage, show-
ing that the ancient workmen spared no pains
in the fabrication even of a little work of art
like this. I saw it at Hsi-shan ' in the collec-
tion of Tsou Yen-chi.

' An old name of Yiin-yang-fu, in the province of
Hupei.

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FIGURES 30. 31

Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Miniature Vase for one flower with finely engraved
decoration. 3°-

The vase \p'ing), which is only about an inch in height, has a bulbous neck shaped like
a 'head' of garlic. The colour of the glaze is a mottled bluish-purple, vulgarly known as
' ass's liver and horse's lung '. It is one of the tiniest of little vases, but well adapted to hold
a single pearl orchid or a twig of jasmine. It is in my own collection, together with the
accompanj'ing little bamboo vase decorated in blue.

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Blue-and-white Vase fashioned as a section of bamboo. 31.

The vase [p'ing), which is one inch and seven-tenths high, is fashioned like a segment of

bamboo, with the outlines of the stem and eye-holes of the joints pencilled in Mohammedan

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^ros bleti^ dazzling the e3'es with its brilliance. The upper part is inscribed in a horizontal
line with the ' mark ' Ta Ming Hsiian tc men cliili,' the six characters being no larger than
mosquito-claws, but clearly written in the ordinary script, and it is really a rare specimen.
I have had it in m}' possession since I was a boy ; it has been in my cabinet over fifty years,
and is growing old with me pari passu.

• Hiii-liH ta citing. The name, as written here, is properl}' that of the Uigur Turks, but it is occasionally used
as a synonym of Hui-hni, the ordinary Chinese name of ' Muslims'. The Chinese ceramists are supposed to
have obtained their first supplies of cobalt blue from the Persian Gulf, or the eastern coast of Africa, until, later,
the cobaltiferous mineral was found in their own country.

"- 'Made in the reign of Hstian-te (1426-35) of the Great Ming (dynasty).'

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SECTION V

CONTAINING SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 32-38)

FIGURE :i2

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung
dynasty. Wine Jar modelled in the
form of a hornless rhinoceros.

The rhinoceros jar (50 fsitn) was
modelled after a bronze sacrificial ves-
sel figured in the Hsilan ho Po ku fu,^
and its several dimensions are the same
as those of our illustration. The body
is hollowed out to hold wine, the
peaked saddle on the back is hinged
to make the cover of the jar. The
form is very ancient, and well fits the
jar to figure in the ancestral temple as
a ceremonial utensil. In the present
day pottery and porcelain are much
used for sacrificial vessels, in place of
gold and copper, so as not to waste
the resources of the state and to spare
the means of the people ; the new
materials consequently should not be
too lightly esteemed. The colour of
the glaze is bright green like spring
onions, delightfully clear and rich in
tone. I saw it at the southern capital, -
at the temple Ch'ao T'ien Kung, in
the apartment of Kuo, the prior of the
Taoist community.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes
that has been so often cited (see Fig. i). The
character ku, ' ancient,' has been omitted
from the title by the copyist, so also kat,
'cover,' from the second column of the
Chinese text, and k'o, 'should,' from the
fourth column.

' Nanking.

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are identical with those of
our illustration. The sacri-
ficial wine-jars used in ances- ■^ ^i/-n $
tral temple worship should

jars for wine set out, the size ^^ ^ ^>^ ^

of which was probablysmaller
than that of the principal sa-
crificial vessels. Vessels of
the kind would doubtless
have figured as such subsi-
diary jars, and although this ^^ ^ ^ ^^ .>-,

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Jar in the form of an elephant.

The elephant jar {hsiang tsuri) was modelled after a figure in the Hsi'ian ho Po ku fu lu^
and its several dimensions

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had subsidiary vessels for ^ jj^ jr -V; » -^ r^ r^

meat offerings and subsidiary .^\, S\ ^ ij" "^ — ' "^

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one may not be large enough ^5" VX P^ y^ -r

for use in the ancestral tern- •»/ .iv^ .:^ _>-

pie, it must not be regarded Jc;^ '^ ^- M- J^ 'fe

merely as a to}'. When filled ^

it will hold about a pint of ^ ^Aj -^ ^ :t f
wme. 1 he colour of the -=^

glaze is a lustrous white, re- J^L "^ ^ -f il ^ .^

sembling mutton-fat, and the T " ^ ^ ,,

modelling is well executed {^g. *31 ^ _Jl_ ,^ ^[

and artistically finished. I "^ "T "^^ ^^ ^^-^ ^

saw this piece in the collec- "^ ^ $? ^'1 ^'1 j}^ i

tion of Chu Chi-chien of San J '^J* A ^^ ''^^ ^^

' The imperial catalogue of an- , « .

cient bronzes so often cited (see ^^ ^Cj? AJ.i ,]> ^T >?K^

note to Fig. I). 4> "^ J -^j* •• ^ X

' San Ch'u appears to have been i^ ^_^ »>,-t J?» J? "Jb

the name of a street in the city of ^_i VSl Tp J J j" -'^'^
Shao-hsing-fu. Another piece from v i

the same collection is illustrated as 3J "-"^ itt'v Jt J4^\ '^*

Fig. 54 in our album. "^ V~"^ -^^ ^^

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I'IGURE .-54

Ju Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine Plwer in the shape of a duck.

The duck-shaped ewer (/« isjoi) was copied from a figure in the Hsiian ho Po ku t'u lu,^ and
its original dimensions are reproduced in our illustration. The colour of the glaze is pale blue.
Now the duck is a water-bird whicli swims in lakes and rivers, and delights in sporting gracefully
on the surface of the water. The men of old fashioned these vessels to suggest that wine-
drinkers should skim lightly on the surface like ducks, and not become drowned in liquor like a
drunkard ; the peculiar form of the vessel was intended, in fact, to serve as a warning against
intemperance. But this particular wine-pot hardly holds a pint of liquor, and it would be difficult
to get intoxicated with such a little wine. There is another ancient saying that ' a murmuring
brook is not
enough, for
complete in-
to x i c a t i o n
large rivers
and lakes are
required '.
This vessel,
however, albe-
it small, can
serve as a
metaphor of
greater things.
Itisof finished
form and tech-
nique, the pale
blue glaze is
crackled in
archaic fashi-
on, and it is
in all respects
worthy of the
highest rank
as a rare ex-
ample of an
ancient wine-
vessel. I saw
it at Hsin-an ^
at the house
of Wu S hang-
she of Shang-
shan.

' The imperial
catalogue of an-
cient bronzes cit-
ed under Fig. i.

- An old name
of Hui-chou-fu,
in the province
of Anhui.

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FIGURE 35

Black Ting Yao of the Sung d3'nasty. Duck-headed Wine Vase.

The duck-headed vase (/« tsun) was copied from a figure in the Hsiian ho Po kii t'ti /;/,' and
its several dimensions are reproduced in our illustration. A discussion of the use of the duck
as a motive for wine-vessels was given under the last illustration, and need not be repeated.
Among the productions of the Ting-chou kilns the large majority are white, the purple and black
being much rarer,
so that an ink-black
specimen is ver}' sel-
dom seen. In the
course of my own life
I have seen a hun-
dred and more pieces
of white Ting-chou
porcelain, some tens
of purple, while of
the black variety I
have only seen this
one solitary ex-
ample. The black ex-
tends over the head
and neck, the body
of the vase being en-
tirely white, so that
it precisely resembles
the plumage of the
bird itself, and is
rightly to be char-
acterized as a rara
avis in Ting-chou por-
celain. The bottle
holds about one pint
and three-tenths of
wine. I saw it in
the collection of my
wife's relative Li Tu-
chien.

' The imperial cata-
logue of ancient bronzes
cited under Fig. i. The
application of the duck
motive as a warning to
winebibbers is also duly
impressed by the editors
of tills catalogue.

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FIGURE ;$(i

LuNG-CH "iJAN Yao of the Sung dynasty. Wine jar in the shape of a recumbent gourd.

The gourd-shaped jar {fao tsun) was fashioned after a figure in the Hsiiau ho l\> kn fn /»,'
and its several dimensions

are reproduced in our illus- ^ L A^ llrj v ^ /•/

tration. The ancients had a ^ -1^ Ml ^^ AL -^ -f C

saying: 'Ladle the wine out jg^ ^^ ;f -i^ ^aL \S\ ^ -^

with gourds.' In olden times "Kl^ "n^ ) -vr i-fg li§J -^ ;^

they had no wine jars of ___ a- >t u • -tit,

bronze or pottery in general ^ ^] |-gA w^ ^l^ "cT '^X^ fj^

use, the few that existed were > jr .>^

only seen in the houses of -^ ^S /{^ 7']^ -^ y^ ^ ^'

mandarins and noblemen ', ^

the common people, however, -prn %L '<^ ^*W^ i^ -^1" "f"^ .!^
made gourds of pottery for

ordinary use, like this jar, -^ ^ ,^ yg^ -^ ^ -|J51 ^^

which they kept full of wine -^

ready to be drunk. In later ^4 ^^ iJ^ i| 't ^'n ^ ^-

times, when the gourds were ' ■' ^^ -*- " ^

fashioned in pottery instead -^ 1 -j^ 1 ^^ ^ i^

of gold or copper, to spare un- ^* -^ ""''^ ^"^^^ ^

necessary expense, they were - --^t J^ .^, ^ ^^, A.%

modelled in the style of this ^^ '^ -^ "^^ ^V ^^ ^^

jar. It holds somewhat over y^ _;!:_

a pint of wine, and has a

handle attached to the body ^ ^J ,->- <rt^

^ n ft % i^ K

^ ^v% M -^ fli -* ^

by chains, so that it may be i vT

carried on mountain trips or

excursions to the Buddhist

temples, where wine is not , cjA ta-, >>fr u

likely to be found. This jar, TX J^ ""^ ^\ 1 5J ^ ^

both in its form and colour- -/- > >L / i'A ^ -?r

ing, which are most antique -^ "V' 'f\ /'^N ^S* -^ )"o7

and distinguished, is no com- ^

mon object. I acquired it in ^k *Hl> '^'f -^5] y:^ ^O 'fi^

the province of Chiang-yu after

the death of its former owner. /-.^ _j]^ Jl. -^ JtJ '^ ^>^

' The imperial catalogue of an- '^ ^ >^ ^^-z y-;? /,^> •'J''

cient bronzes cited under Fig. i. *J^ '■T^ l\ -^ -*^

FIGURE -M

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine Jar in the shape of a goose painted in bkie on
a white ground.

The source of the form of this jar {hti) cannot be traced ; its several dimensions are
reproduced in our illustration. Respectfully refer to the C/iin Citing,^ which says : — ' The

goose is a domestic bird

which is naturally wakeful ^ -^J) ^^ 'Si. >>< \^ >^

at night and drives away ^j. ^

robbers.' Men of old when /^ ^ '^B -^ ^ ^ ^'] ^^

they made wine-jars had S ) v iK^

this metaphor in view, and ^ -|~ ]g^ ,^ ^| ^ yj^ '^

adopted the form of the •* > ^ it. / ^ -

goose as a warning to the -J -S- i^ "^ ^ '^ ^^ 'S^

drinker not to become so I ^ -^^ 0 "^

deeply intoxicated at nightfall J /<!^ -H- H^ '^ ^ , yfcT -^

as to be unable to wake up at -7> ^>^ ^^ ^J Jli ^-^ l'^^ fj

Tt^^^^t^L ^ m r] m A, ■^ ^ '^

The form and technique are -<- ^^ J^ , ^ ^t jC- iA^

well finished, the details of 41! ^ ^i/ ^|Jt ^^ ?^

the crest and the plumage ^^ '^ -^r ^ A. ji^ ^ -T i

the wings and tail being so '^* -^^ -^ "?]" /q" J^ j^ ^

carefully filled in as to re- 4^ ^ ^ . ^

semble in every respect the "^ |^ .^^ Jz, ^ -^1^^ '•^

real bird. The blue with ^

which the design is pencilled ^<^ ^^ .J^ ^^ ^ 3^ J^

is bright and liquid, and the ^ ^ ^ h

glaze rises in faint millet- ^ jS. >1L i^ ^^ >^>

like points, so that it is a -*^^^ ^

choice example of Hsuan- '^ <^ ^ 7^ -i" -^A^

te porcelain. I saw it at ""^ ■' ^^

te porcelain.

t 4 ^ ^-^ I'j ti

' One of the earliest Chinese j^ . , . ^ ^^ ,

books on ornithology, supposed .<^ ^K" iJ^f y/T Jt. -d^

to be as old as, if not older than, ^^ " M >-« pn/ "t-***

the Christian era. Cf Wylie's i-t ^ i/ i-^ a y^V

A^o/fs OM C/»«fSc Literature, p. 123. 1^- -?^ y^ J^^ ^T'T^ ^^^

' A quarter of the city of Shao- / 4 v>/

hsing-fu, in the province of Che- ^_. "J^ *rt* "yTx. ^^ ^?^>

/'

'{^y. '

^

/

FIGURE .-58

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Melon-shaped Wine Pot decorated with coloured glazes.

The form of the wine-pot (/;»), which was fashioned after a design from some unknown
source, is figured in the exact lines

of its original size in our illustration. yt^ -^ At J^ ^ i

In the reign of the emperor canon- ^ *»-— * ^ ^ "i" 'jZ.

ized in the ancestral temple as ' ex- y. w- .y- ^y^ w?- ^,i ^^

emplary'Mhe art of painting porce- ^f. ^ -^^^ tl p-b t" J -H/J

lain with vitrifiable enamel colours ^^ jji^ '^ M^ '7 yT \'i>t

was most highly appreciated, and f^ "^ li '^-^ ^'^ -^^ '^

we know that at this time the de- -T ,>t ' ■' J^ - ^ r^

signs intended for use in the porce- -^^^ -=^ ''^ 7 -^ "^ -^

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lain manufactory were all prepared .^ ^^ ^ .^^ , ^__

by some of the celebrated artists '^ 7^ <EJ y^ "^y^ ^"J --^

attached to the court. Hence the ^^ ^ ..^

colours are laid on in subdued tints, J 3] vJj -J" -^ -^x^ o^ ^^

harmoniously combined and clever- '

ly graded, in a correct style of art jT^ ^^(^ ^,^ ^^ ^ ,^ '^^

that no ordinary workman could

attain to. This wine-pot, for ex- ^ :^^ fc jt ^ % /K

ample, moulded of the natural size y-^ ^

of a melon, has every natural detail

of stem, leaf, and tendril painted on

both sides in greens and yellows of r^ VC^ J^ ^ ~^ J\^

appropriate shade, so that even the vV / C— « H

alternate surfaces of the leaves are ^^ i- 9^ "^ ,] ■,

different. It is truly a choice speci- K "^ -"^

men

sheng and six /?o measures

I acquired it for my own collection v

at Yun-chien^ from Lu, a member "

# f ^ ^ ^ ^i\ 'i

and it holds when full one .^ , v^ ^^ ,

and six ho measures - of wine. j "* 'A/ 1^ -^

of the imperial college of physicians. _^.

Pt »t-v r£ sHf

->-*,

.^

7i?) a rk i^'^ ;i

' The emperor canonized as Hsien . ,M-~ _^ ^VT ^F]

Tsung reigned a.d. 1465-1487 under the rj "l* ^ ■*

title of Ch'eng-hua.

' Equivalent to about i^ pints of our
liquid measure.

' An old name of Sung-chiang-fu, in the _j_^ Jg_ r«^ "^ itiFl

province of Kiangsu. -^ \ -* N ■^^>»_

4 t

SECTION VI

CONTAINING SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 39 45)

FIGURE 31)

HstJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Elephant Jar painted in blue.

The elephant jar [hsiaiig fsttn) was fashioned after a figure in the K'ao ku i'u,^ and its several
dimensions are the same as those of our illustration. Referring to the San It t'u,^ we are told
that in the grand sacrifices to the tutelary gods of the land a pair of elephant jars were used.
The elephant is the great domestic animal of Nan Yueh,^ which can carry on its back a thou-
sand chiin;* its tusks at the

sound of thunder become t| it i^ ^ ^ i- ^ -^

variegated with lines, and it ^^ ^1 ^^i ^ ^r^ ^ ^

understands the language of ^ j^ ^ ^ l^l, -^ .* at\

men. The use of it as a mo- i '^ ^— ^ "^^ T^ ^ J^

tive for vases indicates the jj. ^ i t ^ ^^ .gi ^^ rir'

intention to civilize distant it) ^i -^ M fJt> 1®J ^»^ -^

foreigners when they come ^^ Prr ih ^t iL ^ :% -^ r^

guests. In the present day, ^P ^r ^^ -^ &I Z; 7^ -$"

although not used in the tj^ -^ .rA^ rr^ 4. jl J- ^

grand sacrifices to the earth, Yi} -^-^ Yi\ M^^ "J J^ ^ g

they are still moulded by the ^ u^ . ^ -^ ^A

potters, who thus carry on old ^J ^f] l^j -J^;- ^^ /f i fgj ^^

traditions. The jar holds A>>7-/5^^i.,i_.^

about three pints of wine. )^£>#^S-A-^T ^

The finished skill of its form ^

and technique and the beauty ^ ;^ j? ^^^ ^ ^^s» ^^^ j|l

of its glaze combine to make
it a choice example of the
Hsuan-te ceramic kilns. I saw

t -^ 4 ^ C4 |TI A,

it at the southern capital ' in ^ "i" !^ '^ ^ yO

the library of T'ao, Tutor of the J^ ^ ^A & ^ * -ClJ

Hanlin College.

' The 'illustrated examination ot >-[T -^ ■■^•

antiquities ' of the eleventh century
which has been cited under Fig. 3.

' 'Illustrations of the three rituals,'
a work in twenty books, by Nieh
Tsungyi, who lived in the tenth , _^ j. _»>■

£ % ^ ^ ^ %
^ Jp :i * 4 ^>\

^ % JL> ^ K K

•V

$. ^ i% ^ 4) -Aa

century a. d. The three ancient

ritual books are the Chon Li, the

' Ritual of the Chou dynasty ' ; the

Yi Li, ' Decorum Ritual ' ; and the

official Z/ C/;/, ' Book of Rites.' »« --c

5 Southern Yueh, i.e. Annam. J^^ ^j^ T^ ^/s^ ^\ j^

* The chiln equals 30 catties, about ' "» "^

^"'Nanking. ^ ^ »^ i-§- ^ ^^

FIGURK 40

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Deep red Wine Pot with phoenix-headed spout.

The phoenix-headed wine-pot [feng shou hit) was copied from the form of a jade wine-pot

used by the emperor on state occasions in the palace, and its several dimensions are reproduced
in our illustration. Among the cera-

mic productions of the reign of Hsuan- ^ fg'\ ^ ^^ -^\3 )M^

te, deep red is the one variety that is ■*

the most valued of all. Probably this //>» pfc U^ ^X. I^ 'fl ^f\

is because in the preparation of the '/ '^^*"

colour, red precious stones * from the -^ -5^ .\h f^^ '^ ^^ r^

west were pulverized for the glaze, so ^ ' H -^

that, after the porcelain had been fired, -rr t^ >WL* X-, J^ ^^ _!$!

flashes of ruby-red sheen shone out ' ^ -^ '^ "*"

from the depths of the rich glaze, ^^ _j- ^-fr* jA^ -^J^ -» ii.

dazzling the eyes. No other porce- ^^ 'Jl^ -^ /^ ^ -J^ ?l]

lain can rival it in this particular , ^ +f > /, _^ riV* _^ w

quality. Besides, it came from the 1 »J -^ ^^ -T^ -^ ^ ^

interior of the imperial palace, and . ^ /,{- ,^ ^ ^^ .^

there is nothing of the kind to be -^^ PP fit-. 7^ ^^ -I^P ^-Tsj

found outside, hence it is very costly. c? / A" *i- Tl -^

I saw it when I was at the capital in ^ -^f^ tLi ji\, ^^ J* J eJ

the collection of Huang, a general of 1 >/ 1

the emperor's bodyguard, who told '^j' 7(|_^ _^ -<1> ^i _X:. I?^
me that he had bought it for two

hundred ingots - of silver in paper -^ .^^ li^Cj ^^ ""^ r^
money from Wu Chung-kuei.'

' The prevalent Chinese notion that the
colour is due to rubies, ground down for the
purpose, must be a misconception, as their
colour would disappear in the high fire of the
kiln. It is really a copper colour. Carnelian
was actually, and is still in China, used as one
of the ingredients ; but its function seems to be
to make the glaze more liquescent during the
firing.

* Nominally about six hundred pounds ^.

sterling, although the government notes were yi^

at a large discount at the time. ^.x^ l_ .1^ 2, I.

^ Probably one of the chief eunuchs of the mL iip, 7\ ^ 1 i .^>^

palace at the period, Chung-kuei representing

an official title, or grade of dignity, conferred i *J jWr -^ ,1»

upon a eunuch. **■ r T^ 7^^* TTA '■»

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FIGURE 41

Chun Yao of the Sung dj^nastj'.
Wine Pot of flattened form decorated
with floral scrolls.

The wine-pot (//;/) is designed
from some unknown source, and yet
its quaint form leaves nothing to
desire. The productions of the Chiin-
chou kilns were, in fact, for the most
part, of novel original design, and not
modelled after the antique ; this was
the general rule, so that the piece
before us is not singular in this re-
spect. Among the finest coloured
glazes produced here, none surpassed
the two known as ' vermilion red ' and
'aubergine purple'; as for the ' clair
de liine ' ' and the ' pale green ',' these
last were inferior colours in the Chun-
chou potteries. So a fine specimen
of 'aubergine purple' like this wine-
pot, decorated profusely with floral
scrolls in pronounced relief, is of the
highest class. It holds, when full,
rather more than a pint of wine.
There ought to be a cover on the
top, but it has apparentl}- been lost.
I discovered this piece, and purchased
it forthwith, in the shop of Li, the soy
seller.

J Literally ' moonlight white ', but the colour
known in China by this name is always a
sky-blue tint, whether in ceramic glazes or
in dyed silks and cottons.

- Literally ' oil green '.

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HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Gourd
shaped Wine Pot with pale yellow ground. -^j^ J^^ -^~ -^T7 ^^

The form of the wine-pot {Itu) was fashioned after
a design from some unknown source, its several
dimensions are like those of our illustration. The ^ J^ -i§- /ijt- Jiiv

reign of the emperor who was canonized as ' the filial ' '

was particularly famous for its porcelain painted with ^^ Jpf j /jj-» p^j "^

a pale yellow ground of pure tone, but it also had some
pieces decorated with polychrome vitrifiable enamels,

which were worthy of being ranked with the similar "^ ^J^ J^

productions of the reign of Ch'eng-hua.^ This wine-pot ,*» •& Jl

is a case in point. It holds when full one sheng and " J Ty ' ^ *

four ho measures'' of wine. I obtained it for my ya, ^k ^^

own collection from our fellow citizen Chu, doctor in
literature of the Imperial Academy.

' The emperor canonized in the ancestral temple as Hsiao
Tsung reigned a.d. 1488-1505 under the title of Hung-chih.
" A.D. 1465-87.
^ About a pint and two-fifths of our measure.

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FIGURE 43

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Rouge
Pot overspread with deep red ground.

The rouge-pot (/lu) is a complete represen-
tation of a persimmon^ fruit,copied from nature,
the several dimensions of which are repro-
duced in our illustration. The colour of the
glaze is as red as fresh blood, the twigs, stalk,
and leaves are painted in brown and green
shades, true to life. This little pot also came
out of the interior of the palace, where it had
been used by one of the imperial consorts to
hold the rouge she painted her face with. It
was ticketed for sale at a very high figure,
and was certainly worth more than a hundred
taels. I saw it, when I was at the capital, on
the stall of a dealer in curios at the Pao
Kuo Ssu."

' Diospyros shitse (see note to Fig. lo).

' The famous Buddhist temple in the Chinese city
at Peking, which has been already referred to in
a note to Fig. 3.

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FIGURE 44

Yi-HSING Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tea Pot of Kungcli'iin's make with ' transmutation'
pale brown body.

The teapot (hit) is fashioned after a design the source of which is unknown ; its several
dimensions are the same as in our illustration. The potteries of Yi-hsing were founded during
our own dynasty in the reign of the emperor who was canonized as 'the warrior',' when
a celebrated potter lived there named Kung Ch'un, a native of Yi-hsing, who made various
articles of earthenware for use as tea services. These were occasionally transmuted in the
kiln ^ like this teapot, the original colour of which, a greyish brown like felt, changes to
a jade-like green when the tea is put in, and gradually returns to its proper tint, line by line,
as the tea is poured out, till it is empty, when the whole becomes brown again. This is only
owing to a fortuitous freak in the baking, and yet modern virtuosos prize it most highly. This
teapot, and the brick-red one which follows, were both made by Kung. I saw them once
when I was near the capital, in the possession of a mandarin. They say that Chang, an
official eunuch of high rank at the southern capital,'' has bought this, together with the other
teapot, for 500
taels, and car-
ried them both
off.

' The emperor
Cheng-te, who
reigned A. D.1506-
21 ,was canonized
with the dynastic
titleofWuTsung.

^ Furnace
transmutation
{yao pien) is a
term of frequent
occurrence in
Chinese ceramic
books. It is ap-
plied not only to
flamln's glazes,
due to varied ox-
idation of copper
silicates, but also
to many other for-
tuitous changes
in the decoration,
body, or form of
particular pieces,
occurring some-
how during fir-
ing. The cele-
brated yao pien
image of Kuan
yin in the Pao
Kuo Ssii temple
at Peking is so
called because
the spirit of the
goddess is said to
have descended
into the kiln and
to have miracu-
lously shaped the
image with her
own lineaments.

" Nanking.

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FIGURE 45

Yi-HsiNG Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tea Pot of
Kung Ch'un's make with 'transmutation' vermilion
red body.

The teapot {/in) is fashioned after a design from
some unknown source, and its several dimensions are
the same as those of our illustration. When it is full
of tea, the colour changes in the same way as in the
last piece, so that no further description is required.
As for such curious lusus 7taturae the creative power
of heaven and earth is great and anything may
happen, yet I could not have credited it had 1 not
seen it with my own eyes. Now that I have actually
seen the strange peculiarity of these two teapots
I cannot but believe in its realitv.

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SECriON VI 1

CONTAINING EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS (KIGS. 4t)-53)

FIGURE 4(;

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming d^-nasty. Pair
of Tea Cups shaped as hibiscus flowers ena- ^'^ -^\^ ^^ ^ •* /-I

melled pale yellow. ^ ^^, ^ ^^^ -^^^ ^^

The cups ipci) have been fashioned from
some unknown source, and the several dimen- yt^^ A^ ^^ 4K^ ^^ 7a
sions are reproduced in our illustration. The ^^ ^ -y t '^

colour of the glaze is a pure fresh yellow, the ^ * y 'J

tint of a newly opened hibiscus blossom. Yellow "i^ Jt ^, 'W^ '^'^

outside, the interior of the cup is white to bring ^ j^ ^

out effectively the colour of the tea. I have seen ) "^^ ^V^ ^ ^

many specimens of Hung-chih' porcelain, but ^- j^ -^ J^ it

nothing that could surpass these cups in beaut}-
of form and colouring. I got the pair of cups
from a friend named Chu, of Chi-sha, in ex- s; .,^ lu ■. jA

change for a manuscript roll of the Thousand ^'~-' '*"

Character Classic^ written in running hand by ^yi ^ Ji^ "^^ a^>

Wen Cheng-chung." ,j^

^ -f SI

' The emperor Hung-chih reigned a.d. 1488-1505.

" The well-known school primer, Ch'ien tsii iveii, which y»L"~ -JL'f j^r,] '^/J
was compiled bj' Chou Hsing-ssu in the sixth century of y

our era. ^ _^ ^A Si

^ Wen Cheng-ming, styled Cheng-chung, who lived "^ ^^

A.D. 1470-1559, was a native of Ch'ang-chou in Kiangsu. ^ jX /^ -^jh^

Celebrated as a calligraphist, he rose to be a member of r \ j-i- >\-~ -""Xv

the Han-lin College, and wrote the official annals of the .J . • ^^

reign of VVu Tsung, 1506 21. ^ -J^ ^{_^ "^

f^ ^ /A -X-

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FIGURE 47

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynast}-. Tea
Cup shaped hke a Buddha's hand citron.

The cup (pei), which has been fashioned
after a design from some unknown source, is
figured of the size of the original in our illus-
tration. The colour of the glaze is pale
purplish blue, scored in the kiln with ice-like
crackle. The form of the cup is very care-
fully modelled in the exact form of a fragrant
citron of the Buddha's hand ' variety. The
indented rim of the cup is perfectly regular
and level, none of the flutes projecting beyond
the rest. The glaze, inside and out, is uni-
formly crackled with an ice-like reticulation,
and there is not a hair-line of fault or crack in
an}- part, so that it is a fine example of the
highest class of the imperial ware {kuanyao)
of the time. I saw it at the southern capital -
in the palace of Prince Hsu, a ducal scion of
the imperial blood.

' Citrus Deciiiiiaiia, Lour.
' Nanking.

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HsuAN Yao of the Mmg dynasty. Set of Tea Cups decorated ,n blue with dragon pines
The eups (pet) vv-^re fashioned after a design of unknown source, copied in all probability
from a jade wme-cup (fe;.) of the Han dynasty ; ' and the several dimensions are the same as in
our illustrafons. The colour of the gla.e is a clear white, like fine jade of mutton-fat texture
strewn with millet-hke grains nsing in faint relief The blue decoration is pure and bright so as
to dazzle the eyes, having been pencilled in the typical Mohammedan gros bleu- o[ the time
The pine IS sketched with a gnarled trunk and interlacing branches, resembling the coiled form
of some huge dragon, an ancient pine, as it were, taken from a landscape picture by the artist
Kuo Hsi/ Underneath the pine are rocks with chih^ fungus and orchids springing from
them, drawn with life- *

like accurac}'. The
work is that of no

ordinary hand, it must, /^^ ^ ^ ^|? iJ-) -^ ^ »J» %\ ^/J

on the contrary, have

been executed by the -^ /^^ < ^Y^ ^ K ^k^ T> '^

brush of some cele-
brated painter of the
imperial court.^ I pur-
chased for my own ^ ^^ ^^ ;{f y|^ ^fcr? ^ST -^
collection a set of four
of these cups for ten /v ^fe 'g ^ c\ ,^ W- ^^

taels of silver from
Tsang Ching-yu of

isang Uhing-yu ot >^ -If- ^ ^n /I ^ A -^1

Wu-hsing, Director of ^^ 'M~ "^^ ^" ^^ S^ ^^ Ml^

the Imperial Stud.

' B.C. 206-A. D. 220.

- Hiti-hii ta ch'ing, see
note to Fig. 31.

' Kuo Hsi, known to the
Japanese as Kwakki, one
of the greatest of Chinese
landscape painters, flou-
rished in the eleventh
century of our era. (See
Giles's Chinese Pictorial
Art, p. loi.)

* The sacred fungus
{ling-chih), the Polyporiis
lucidtis of botanists.

■ In the reign of Ch'eng-
hua, 1465-87, we are told
in the ceramic annals that
the court painters were
employed to paint pic-
tures for the decoration
of the porcelain wine-cups
of the period.

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FIGURE 4!>

Ch'Sng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine Cup
simulating a crimson blossom of the Magnolia Ytdan.

The cup {pel), of novel form, purple outside and
white inside, is skilfully decorated with coloured
glazes. Moreover the bright green leaves and brown
stem are instinct with the art of a clever water-colour
painter of flowers. It is just a single flowering spray
of the magnolia tree ' with a newly opened blossom,
which makes an ideal cup for the wine-drinker. I
procured it at the southern capital - in the Taoist
temple Ch'ao T'ien Kung from the prior of the com-
munity Hsu Tao-chi.

' Magnolia coiispicua, formerly called Magiioh'a Yiilan after
its Chinese name. ,

- Nanking.

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FIGURE 50

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. A Sacrificial
Cup with dragon's-head handle.

The sacrificial libation cup {cliiieh) was designed
after a figure in the Hsuan ho Po ku t'u lu^ and its
several dimensions are reproduced in our illustration.
The colour of the glaze is a purplish blue of pale
shade, crackled with a network of ice-like lines. The
form is archaic and the colour attractive, so that it is
a choice specimen of the imperial ceramic manufac-
ture of the time, worthy of a chief place in any col-
lection of wine-vessels. 1 saw it at the house of my
fellow citizen Chou Tzu-fa, the Grand Tutor.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited under
Fig. I.

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FIGURE 51

Purple Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Sacri-
ficial Wine Vessel with grotesque dragon scrolls.

The form of the wine-vessel (chia) was fashioned
after a design figured in the Hsiian ho Po kti fu lu^
and its several dimensions are identical with those of
our illustration. The colour of the glaze is purple,
of the tint of the ripe aubergine fruit,* transparent,
bright, and beautifully lustrous ; the lines of the
decorative designs are artistically worked, and finished
to a hair-like fineness ; so that it is indeed a rare
specimen of the ceramic productions of Ting-chou.
I added it to my own collection by bartering a wine-
cup of carved jade with my fellow citizen Li Liang-
shih, a graduate of the second degree.^

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited under
Fig. I.

'■' Solatium Melongena.

° Hsiao-lien is equivalent to C/«V-y<'«, the second grade in the
official examinations,

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FIGURE 52

Cheng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Libation Cup
of plain rounded form.

The form of the Hbation cup (chileh) was copied
from a figure engraved in the Hsiian ho Po ku fn
Ih^ and its several dimensions are reproduced in
our illustration. The colour of the glaze is a rich
yellow, of the tint of a baked chestnut, and it rises in
faint elevations like the skin of a plucked fowl. The
form is pleasing in its antique simplicity, the body
entirely plain and untouched with the graving-tool is
classical but artistic withal, and it is altogether a fine
example of the ceramic productions of the reign of the
warrior emperor.- I had the opportunity of seeing
it in the collection of my learned kinsman Wei-sheng,
member of the Imperial Academy.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited under
Fig. I.

' The emperor Cheng-te, who reigned a.d. 1506-21, was
canonized in the ancestral temple with the title of Wu, ' the
Warrior.'

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FIGURE 53

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Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Libation Cup
decorated with scrolled designs.

The libation cup (chileh) was fashioned after a
design figured in the Hsiiaii ho Po ku f'u lu,^ and
its several dimensions are identical with those of
our illustration. The colour of the glaze is sky
blue, not marked with a single hair-line of crackling,
and the bowl is so artistically engraved with scroll-
work of delicate and complicated design, executed
without a blur, that it worthily represents the finest
handiwork of the imperial potteries of the time. I
acquired it for my own collection from Wen San-
ch'iao of Wu-men,- Doctor of the Hanlin College.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited under
Fig. I.

' One of the quarters of the city of Shao-hsing-fu, in the
province of Kiangsu.

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SECTION VIII

CONTAINING THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. M-GG)

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty.
Tazza-shaped Cup decorated in deep
red with three fish.

The cup (pet) was fashioned in
the shape of a stemmed cup {pa pei)
of the Han dynasty' carved in jade,
and its several dimensions are repro-
duced in our illustration. The white
part of the glaze, looking like con-
gealed fat, is as pure in tint as driven
snow ; and the deep red of the three
fishes, outlined with a vigorous brush,
is as crimson as fresh blood. Flashes
of ruby rays shine out as in painted
glass,- dazzling the eyes with their
brilliance, so that it is truly a rare
gem in a highly prized class. Under
the foot of the cup in the middle,
which is level, there is faintly engraved
under the paste the six-character mark
Ta Miyig Hsiian te nioi chili, ' Made
in the reign of Hsiian-te " of the Great
Ming (dynasty).' I bought this cup
for twenty-four taels of silver at Shao-
hsing-fu from the collection of Chu
Chi-chien.^

' Han dynasty, b. c. 206-A. d. 220.

^ The somewhat unusual characters used
here for liu-li, ' glass,' are taken from the
annals of the Han dynasty. The name is
a contraction oi fii-liii-li, a transliteration of
the Sanskrit vaidurya.

' A. D. 1426-35.

* See note to Fig. 33.

FIGURE 54

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FIGURE 55

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tazza-shaped Cup decorated in enamel colours with
grapes.

The shape of the cup (pet) resembles that of the cup figured above (Fig. 54), but the rim of
the bowl is slightly more expanded ; its several dimensions are reproduced in our illustration.
The colour of the glaze is a greyish white, the leafy twigs and tendrils of the vine are shaded in
bright greens, the stem is touched with brown, while the grapes hang down in purple clusters
like bunches of amethyst beads. The decoration in the five enameF colours is artistically
designed and painted with the utmost delicacy, so that it is truly a fascinating object. The
surface of the glaze rises in faint millet-like elevations, and the perfect taste and antique
colouring of the little wine-
cup would single it out in 1. >, »_ ,^
the midst of the rarest pro- "^^ a "^ >^
ductions of the porcelain ^^^ »? i. 4/ ^
kilns of the ' exemplary ' em- ^ »^P 2j ^^ '^^

peror.^ No one could find ^ . ^\^

fault with the price it cost as )r^ ^^ '^'J As^ ,^

too high. The cup is en- O- M iC -*^

shrined at Chin-sha in the -<-- vnli. ^^ f^ _J^

collection of Wang Sun-ch'i, j_^ ^^ ^,_^

who told me that he had ^t M- ',% ^ 'W

purchased it for ten large

ingots of silver 3 at Hsuan- ^ ^ jtn ^ ^

ch'eng,'' from the collection

of Hsu, the sub-prefect of ^^ /^ !^ -^ ^

the city. " -J. "^* <1^

^ 4a ^ I.

' H'^ii ts'ai, ' five colours,' is the
technical ceramic term for poly-
chrome decoration in enamels
fired in the muffle stove. Five

might be taken to mean 'many', ^ ^^ ^ ^

rather than literally.

^ The emperor who reigned ^_ , _^

under the title of Ch'eng-hua (a. D. ^\l /j(K "jfi^ ^^ .i.

1465-87) was canonized in the I

ancestral temple as Hsien Tsung, f^ xj rp^ ,--.

the 'Exemplary'. ^ pa K^ ^\

' The ' large ingot ' of silver ^

weighed probably ten taels. J'3 >3. ^jj p^

There is abundant contemporary / Jv ^^»— I -*-

literary evidence of the apprecia- ^ j. ,y

tion of these little cups at the ^ 'pji. },u^

time. The emperor Wan-li
(a. D. 1573-1619), for instance, is -rf ^ J '^

said to have always had a pair of ' '^ -TV ^ ^

them placed on his dinner-table, ^ ^^

which were valued at 100,000 ^T /■^ -eLy. "^

cash, equivalent to 100 taels of H < S.

silver.

' An old name of Ning-kuo-fu,
in the province of Anhui.

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FIGURE 5B

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Tazza-shapcd Cup painted in deep red with three pairs
of peaches.

The form of the cup (pci\ is hke that of the first cup illustrated in our list (Fig. 54), and its
several dimensions are reproduced in the illustration. The colour of the twin peaches shades
off effectively, the brilliant red being of the tone of ripe red cherries, or, rather, like the precious
stones brought by the turbaned red-socked nomads, bright red rays of wonderful brilliance flash-
ing out of the very depths of __+,.,, r^^ ,;ri >T
the liquid glaze. The effect ^] -^ -^ i\\^ -f ]%\ ^/^
is very different to that of ^(l? ^t 1 in
later imitations of the old ^ '^ ^f f X. ^ xl ^* ^^
red, which are painted over t? r*--
the glaze with red ochre and yjs^ j^ ^ ^ -^U ;f^f£^ ^ _&
re-fired, and which look ex- » > >

actlylikebrick-dust.^ Very >L ^ :§ 'f^l ly ^ -t. ^

few of these cups have sur-
vived to our day, and only ^^- ^ ^^ ^^^ |^ ^ t^ tg
three or four are known to ' ^

exist within the four seas, so -^ ^^ »4/ ^^ '^ ^ ^ - — ,iClL

that those who possess them

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ought to value them as high- ^^ ^ >^ ^^ ;5 -^ :^;|; J

ly as gu'dle buckles of jade ' f ^ '*t ^

or filigree work in fine gold, ^ ,£ t*3 Tf^^ ^1 vf.jr ^ #^

and cherish them accordmg- 'j —

iTppol^I^of s'eei^g .hi: <f ff yf\ ^t fu ^> *i ^

one at the capital" in the -^ /" ji- ^ Cjr> -in -i-T

collection of Li, a palace -^ I^J 4'-^ >£ i^ ^^ '^^^ ^"^^

eunuch of high degree. -^

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' We know from other sources,
that the art of painting under the ^ ^ ^^

glaze in red prepared from cop- 'ip Jll- Or*

per failed towards the end of the

Mingdynasty, so that in the reign ^J^ ^ J(_ :^jj ^■^ j^(\

of Chia-ching (1522-66) even the ^ ^

imperial potters petitioned to be
allowed to decorate the porcelain
required for the palace with over- " ^

glaze vermilion red produced by j/- -7 it ->r 'n'-ir 'J*

the incineration of iron sulphate, >)fff v — i 1>^\1^

in place of the old copper red. i- u7 1

'Peking. ^ y^ ^yf^ f^^ ^ -^P

^ ^ <iij /K $. A

FIGURE 57

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Cup fashioned
like a plaited willow basket.

The shape of the cup {pei) has been modelled in
every respect after a basket of plaited osier, and its
several dimensions are reproduced in our illustration.
The colour of the glaze is of the characteristic white
tint of the finest class of Ting-chou ware. The outlines
of the curved sides of a willow basket with the twigs
bound together with cords are followed out in every
detail, so that the cup simulates exactly the handiwork
of a basketmaker, and makes a quaint design of novel
form for a wine-service. I saw it once at T'ung-ch'eng'
at the house of a collector who is now no more.

' A city of the third order in the province of Anhui.

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FIGURE 58

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty.
Conical Wine Cup of archaic form
painted in deep red.

The source of design of tlie
cup [pet] is not known, its several
dimensions are followed in our illus-
tration. The colour of the glaze is of
the white tone of mutton fat, the tint
of the red is crimson like fresh blood,
and the body of the archaic dragon '
coils closely round as if it were alive.
The whole surface of the cup is finely
pencilled, inside and out, with cloud
scrolls, whirling round in spiral curves
like an autumnal storm-tossed sea,
a congenial medium for a draught of
invigorating wine. Only one or two
of these cups are left within the four
seas, and a hundred taels would not
be considered too much to pay for its
fellow. I have figured this one from
the cabinet of His Excellency Hsu,
the lieutenant-governor of the southern
capital.^

' The archaic dragon of ancient bronzes,
called ch'ih lung, is of lizard-like form with
a bifid spreading tail, as represented in the
illustration.

' Nanking.

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FIGURES 59, 60

Ch'en'g Yao of the Ming dynasty. Pair of little Wine Cups painted in 'five colours' with
flowers and insects.

The form of the cups {pet) is very small and beautifully thin, and when poised on the tips
of the fingers one can detect spiral traces of the revolutions of the potter's wheel. Each cup
does not exceed three-tenths of a Chinese ounce ' in weight, an indication of their extreme
delicacy. The decoration, consisting of growing flowers with flying and crawling insects, with
which they are painted is as minute as flies' heads or mosquitoes' claws, yet it is painted in
all the enamel colours, and carefull}' finished in every detail so as to produce a life-like effect.
That so much fine work should have been lavished on such tiny cups as these is full

4^ ;t J^t, ^ JL % 4|. ^^,

evidence of the power

of the sacred glance - ^^

of the emperor who

was canonized as Hsien, ^_^^

the 'Exemplary'. Not y^^, "g' i^T^ ^f^ ^ ^^ i^^^ ^.] ^

like the ordinar}^ pro- _^_^

ductions of the period '|<^ ^ -^ % |.^ 1 1. ^ -ft ^^^

\ki\ih humeri tprhniniie ^^ U.~ N

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Ching-te-chen, and they "^P "^T" 'jT' T -kVi -tt* ^W

would have been, doubtless, 'T^ cj "i^ -^~* -tt] ^Vp 5^_f^

submitted for the approval , ^, v_^

of the emperor before they gj^ ^^ JiSL "^Xl '^ ^ j:^

were sent. f^ '^ ' ~

^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ .^ ^^

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with hurried technique

and unclassical form, "^ * ij ^ /± ^ -^ ^ j

these wine-cups are ■' ' ^^

generally works of art ^^ ^ gp %X, % -rr- 3-. _.

of the highest class, ^^ ^ %. tlj ^ ^^ ^ ^

and each pair IS well ^^ t^ ^g ^ \^ 'A -^^ ^%

worth a hundred taels. ^ -^-^^ ^ -^ -^-J- <ra) ^y

In the present day, in- l^ /j. »^ -ri , ai-. ,

deed, it is far easier to ^^^ '^ -<^ T^ -^^ :Z^ 7^ f f

get a hundred pieces ._- cr a,^ __ ^ c :,). ^

of silver than to find >l^ v^P tfj 1^^ ^^ ^^ ^

a pair of the cups. 1 __-. ^ rJl'-i 'S -t^ jj»

saw these two when ^J "fx ^ \~ ^^^ ^U -BL .^^ > J %

I was at the capitaP in ^g

the collection of Huang, ^^ 1J ^K <, $X #X. :Jg ^j^^S

general of the imperial

bodyguards.

' Equivalent to about 11
grammes.

"^ Literally ' mirror'. The
designs are said to have
been painted by the court
painters and sent down to
the imperial potteries at

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FIGURK .;!

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynastj\
Small bowl-shaped Wine Cup deco-
rated in deep red with three fish.

The form of the cup (c/iau) is
very small and shallow, but fashioned
throughout with perfect regularity.
The colour of the glaze is white as
driven snow, with a chicken's-skin
surface rising in minute elevations
like grains of millet, and the three
deep red fish, although no larger than
flies, yet with spiny fins and scales
all complete, flash out ruby-red gleams
like jewels from the west fascinating
the eye with their brilliance. The
cup held only about one {ho} measure '
of wine, but it figured on the wine-
table as a divine medium of powerful
efficacy. I have only seen this one,
in the house of a traveller from the
Ch'in ^ country, who told me that he
had bought it for a good price at the
capital.^ Since he disappeared I have
never seen its like, which fully proves
to my mind that there are not many
such wine-cups in existence in the
present day.

' Less than two ounces.
* The province of Shensi in the north-west
of China.
" Peking.

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FIGURE (52

YuNG-i.o Yao of the Ming dynasty. Small Eggshell ' Cup with dragons and phoenixes
engraved in the paste under the glaze.

The form of this cup [pet) is very beautifully designed making it available either for tea or
for wine, and the body of the cup is very thin, not thicker indeed than paper. When held up to
the light and closely examined, one sees that there is a very fine decoration of dragons and
phoenixes engraved in the paste. Under the bottom of the cup there is the six-character mark
Ta Ming Yung lo nien chili - yoi i_ ^ J-

also engraved in perfect |g] A^ ^Q ^^ J^ ^\ M^

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imperial house.

style. There are still some

few of these cups left, yet --cj -,« ^^^ ^yf^ yij-^ j^

connoisseurs very rarely see ^l9

them, and I now draw the )i^ A\ ^^ M^ ^Y^ "^ ^K ^^

picture of one in order to ^^ \ii- i^ -x-

give a general idea of their y'A 9-k M- Ik^ ^ ^^ A. '^

character, so that collectors ,^ T^ "I ^^

of taste may be enabled to ^ ^^ »^ tl J^ -^jjj ^

recognize a genuine speci- /^ ^^ ^^ L* "X "' ^

men and not grudge a liberal . -^ -4^ M i^ -^ M)t

price for its acquisition. U lK ^-^ ^ yf^ ^^ ^^

For those of my successors J^ -fi^ ^ ^^<^ ^0- rb of tf^

who are fond of art and in-

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quire about these cups and ^^ T g^ ^ ,>, ^ ;J<^ j^b

are yet unsuccessful in their -ST -'^" /^s. ^ -^ '^ '"'' ^^-^

quest for one, I venture to :i~ / ^ r^ Av tL y/^ "T ifT

offer this illustrated album ^ f^ ^ ^7^ ^X^ :?tC> '"'^ ''^

for their careful inspection, y^ 1^] ^ ^ ,j^ .^c; j-

if only to excite their ardour ej .^^r j'l. ,^ ^ ,'^ffy /ly ifq"

as collectors. I saw this one '^ ■' "* ^i-. :fsv. -t-^ -A

when I was at the capital in ^ ^^ "^ ^ ^ "f ti ^ M-j

the collection of the Prince .f. -^^^

Pao, a ^ ducal scion of the ^ ^^ ^ iD iHli i|L ^ ^-^^

^t T. - -^ :^. ^ f

The Chinese expression used a^ -^ ^^ ,^ ^ -^

here as a synonym for eggshell ^^ liT ,^^^ 1 1H ^^^

is to- fat, or 'bodiless', because ♦^x. * -^» /• J- '*'^

the body of the piece has been ''^ J^ -^ jj^ >f^ ^yf^ ^

cut down on the jigger as near to ^^

the vanishing point as possible. rof* -f?^ 'WT -4^ li~ ^^

■^ ' Made in the reign of Yung- ^ J^A. X ^ A\ '"jp^

lo (a. d. 1403-24) of the Great ^ _^

Ming (dynasty).' IL ^ "T ^ ^

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FIGURK (;:•,

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Flat-bottomed Cup painted in five colours with geese.

The form of the cup (pet), which
is fashioned after a design from some
unknown source, resembles somewhat
in shape a large pottery garden-bowl,'
so that the name of the latter (kaiig) is
also given to the wine-cups. It is
figured in the original size in our
illustration. The body of the cup is
very thin and light in weight. The
colour of the glaze is a lustrous white,
and the decoration painted over the
glaze consists of geese represented as
sporting in the water with wings erect
in life-like poise as if about to fly into
space, the waves spreading all round
being dotted in the inter\'als with
floating branches of the sacred fungus,
all painted with the finished touch of
a clever student of nature painting in
water-colours. The cost of these cups
is high, and increases as one day suc-
ceeds another, so that very few com-
plete table rounds of them now re-
main. This cup, and the wine-cup of
the same shape decorated with chicken
which follows, have both long been
in the possession of our own familj*.

' The large bowls which usually stand in
the middle of a Chinese courtyard and are
used for gold-fish or for growing nelumbium
lotus flowers in. They are commonly called
vii-kaiig, ' fish-bowls,' and are made either
of porcelain or of glazed earthenware.

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FIGURE r.4

Ch'eng YAOof the Ming dynast}'.
Flat-bottomed Cup painted in five
colours with chicken.

The form of the cup (pel) is
similar to that of the little wine-cup
decorated with geese which has
just been illustrated in Fig. 63, and
it is also reproduced of the original
size in our illustration. The sides
of the bowl are as thin and
diaphanous as a cicada's wing, so
that the finger-nails show clearly
through. The decoration with
which it is painted displays a pair of
fowls, a cock and hen, instinct with
life and motion, reminding one in
every little detail of a water-colour
picture by one of the court artists
of the Sung dynasty.' The cocks-
comb flower and the grass are pen-
cilled in subdued colours, very much
in the style of Huang Ch'iian,- and
with a soupcon of his skill as a
colourist. So much artistic work
has been devoted to this tiny cup as
to enhance its costliness to a cor-
responding figure. I am myself
now its happj' possessor.

' The Sung dynasty flourished during
the years 960-1272 of our era.

- A celebrated Chinese artist of the tenth
century a. d., whose pictures were mostly
of birds and flowers. (Cf. Giles's Chinese
Pictorial Art, pp. 80, 8r.)

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FIGURE (55

Ch'kng Yau of the Ming dynasty. Small
Wine Cup shaped like a chrysanthemum
blossom and decorated in colours.

The size of the cup {f^ci) is extremely
small, and it only holds half a ho measure ' of
wine ; it is figured of its original size in our
illustration. The flower, leaves, and stalk
with twig attached are all painted in enamel
colours of effectively shaded tints, employed
with the studied skill of one of the court painters
of the time, porcelain being then considered
to rank with jewels of great price. A little
piece of ceramic ware brought to such a high
point of technical perfection is indeed rarel}'
to be found. This wine-cup, together with the
little rustic cup which follows, is taken from
the collection of my esteemed friend Chang
Yuan-lung.

' Equivalent to less than an ounce.

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FIGURE (ifi

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine
Cup shaped hke the root of a tree painted in
colours.

The form of the cup {pei) is extremely
small, corresponding to the chrysanthemum cup
which has just been illustrated in Fig. 65, and
its several dimensions are also the same as in
our illustration. The cup is fashioned in the
shape of a rustic tree root and painted reddish
brown, the knots, prominences, and hollows
on the surface are outlined by pencilling in a
darker shade of the same enamel colour, the
spiral designs in their free and skilful treat-
ment being truly instinct with evidence of
supernatural power.' There are few smaller
cups than these tiny ones which are roughly
fashioned to represent the hollow trunk of
a tree, and which hold but a single sip ot
wine. My friend Yuan-lung^ has pledged me
in it with wine to swear friendship, and
I now draw the very cup, and thereby con-
firm as it were our sworn bonds of union.

' Kiiei-ktiiig, literally ' devils' handiwork ', is a term
applied to anj' elaborately intricate craftsmanship of
unusual character, such, for instance, as that of the
concentric openwork balls carved in ivory at Canton.

^ Referred to in the description of Fig. 65.

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SECTION IX

CONTAINING EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. e7-74i

FIGURE (17

HuNG-CHiH Yao of the Ming dynasty. Wine
Vessel moulded in the form of two winged monsters.

The wine-vessel {yu) was modelled after a design
figured in the Hsiiaii ho Po ku fit lit} The colour of
the glaze is a pure yellow of palish tone like the
petals of the hibiscus flower, and the whole surface
is free from the slightest stain or flaw. With four
legs, a handle springing from two looped projections,
and a movable cover, the form is classically correct
in its graceful lines, and the colour is of the fresh
bright tint which distinguishes the finest class
of the ceramic productions of the reign of the filial
emperor.^ I saw this in the province of Shan-yu, ■
in the collection of Chou, the Recorder.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes cited under
Fig. I.

- The emperor who reigned as Hung-chih, a. d. 1488-1505,
was canonized in the ancestral temple with the title of Hsiao,
' Filial.'

■ The modern Shansi.

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FIGURE 68

Lung-ch'uan Yao of the Sung dynasty.
Wine Vessel with a transverse bowed handle
attached by chains engraved with four deer.

The wine-vessel (yn) was copied from
a sacrificial bronze design figured in the
Hsilan ho Po kn fit lii,^ and its several di-
mensions are the same as those in our illus-
tration. The colour of the glaze is a fresh
bright green, like green onion-sprouts in the
autumn, a lovely tint. The bow-shaped handle
is attached to the looped sides by ceramic
chains composed of links, joined together in
the same way as ordinary chains of gold or
copper, an instance of extraordinary skill in
moulding clay. The surface is covered all
over with carved designs of intricate pattern,
as fine as bullock's hair or floss silk, making
it a striking art object of great beaut}'. I saw
it at Hsuan-ch'eng,- in the collection of Mei
Ching-fu.

' The imperial collection of ancient bronzes cited
under Fig. i.

- An old name of the city of Ning-kuo-fii. in the
province of Anhui.

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FIGURi: Hit

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dj'nasty.
Sacrificial Vessel of archaic form
decorated in blue and white.

The sacrificial wine-vessel (yi)
was fashioned after a design figured
in the Hsi'tan ho Po kn fit lit,''- and its
several dimensions are reproduced in
our illustration. The colour of the
glaze is whiter than driven snow,
the painted designs are a deep rich
blue, having been pencilled in the
Mohammedan gros bleu of the period.
Where the blue and white blend into
each other, faint elevations like millet
grains rise up, so that it is a most
important specimen of the porcelain
production of the reign of the ' famous '
emperor.- When placed upon the
altar the brilliant decoration dazzles
the eyes and it is exceedingly admired.
I acquired it in exchange for two
manuscript rolls, containing eight
verses on autumn by the poet Tu,'*
written by Hsien-yu Po-chi ^ of the
Yuan dynasty, from the collection of
Wen Hsiu-ch'eng of Wu-men.

' The imperial catalogue of ancient bronzes
cited under Fig. i.

- The emperor Hsiian-te, a. d. 1426-35, was
canonized in the ancestral temple as Hsiiaii,
the ' Famous '.

' Tu Fu, one of China's most famous poets,
lived A. D. 712-70.

' A calligraphist of the Yuan dynasty,
which reigned a.d. 1280-1367.

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FIGURE 70

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Palace
Rice Bowl decorated in deep red with three
fish.

The bowl {ztmt), which is of a very un-
common elegant form, came out of the inner
precincts of the imperial palace ; its several
dimensions are reproduced in our illustration.
The colour of the glaze is as white as driven
snow, while the three fish are of an intense
vermilion tint, and the granulated surface
rises into millet-like elevations wrinkled as it
were by the wind. It would make a present
of the most recherche kind for holding
a ' river' of wine, a jewelled vessel ' for a con-
vivial circle of brilliant compan}^ although
scarcely appropriate for the study of a cold,
sour Confucianist scholar. I saw it m3'self
when I was at the capital ^ in the collection of
Liang, one of the chief eunuchs in the palace.

' Literally 'a jadeite ewer'.
' Peking.

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FIGUR

Tung Ch'ing Tz'u of the Sung dynasty.
Hexagonal Bowl for washing brushes, en-
graved with floral scrolls.

The washing-bowl {hsi) is fashioned from
some unknown source, and its several dimen-
sions are the same as those of our illustration.
The colour of the glaze is as blue as king-
fisher plumes in layers,' with millet-like
granulations in faint relief. The floral scrolls
engraved on the sides of the bowl are artis-
tically designed, after the style of Huang
Ch'uan,- or one of his celebrated school of
nature painters. It is very useful also for
the decoration of the dinner-table, filled with
water and a rockwork pile of rare stones ; or,
more especially, for the cultivation of flower-
ing bulbs of the short-leaved sacred narcissus ^
or of dwarf chrysanthemum flowers. It came
into my possession from the collection of my
maternal uncle Chuang Tu-chien.

' Silver-gilt jewellery is often decorated in China
with the turquoise-blue plumes of the kingfisher,
gummed on in layers.

^ A painter of birds and flowers of the tenth century
of our era, cited in a note to Fig. 64. The character
Yittff, used for the surname in the text, is probably
a corruption of the copyist.

^ Narcissus Tazctia, var. chinensis.

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FIGURE 72

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Dish
for washing brushes, decorated in deep red
with pairs of fishes.

The dish [hsi) was fashioned after a design
figured in the Sliao Using Chieii ku fu lit,^ and
its several dimensions are identical with those
of our illustration. The colour of the glaze
over the body of the dish is a lustrous white
like congealed fat ; the fishes are of the red
tint of fresh blood. The outside of the dish
and the level bottom inside are pencilled all
over with undulating waves, in the midst
of which are fish swimming about in pairs,
instinct with life and movement, making
it truly a very rare specimen of the kind.
I saw it in the collection of P'ing Cho-an,
Libationer of the Hanlin College-.

' The Illustrated Mirror of Antiquities, published in
the Shao-hsing period (a. d. 1131-62), which was cited
under Fig. 6.

'^ The College of Literature at Peking.

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FIGURE 7:5

HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dynasty. Palace Dish
decorated outside in deep red, with dragons engraved
in the paste underneath.

The form of the round dish {tieli) is very pecuhar,
and its several dimensions are given in our illustra-
tion. The colour of the glaze is redder than fresh
blood ' and the whole surface under the glaze is
delicately engraved with five-clawed dragons, while
the inside of the dish is coated with a white glaze.
Underneath the bottom of the dish the six-character
mark Ta Ming Hsiian te nien chih ^ is lightly en-
graved under the glaze in very finely-written script.
This dish was drawn by me from the collection of
Chang Kuo-ch'i, who told me that he had bought
it for a high price from a curio-dealer.

^ The typical sang de 6a;</ monochrome glaze of the period.
''■ ' Made in the reign of Hsuan-te (.\. d. 1426-35) of the Great
Ming (dynasty^'

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FIGURE 74

Kuan Yao of the Sung dynasty. Shaped Saucer
engraved with carved lacquer ornamentation.

The form of the saucer {f'o) is fashioned after
the design of a shaped saucer of the Sung dynasty '
carved in red lacquer, and its several dimensions are
reproduced in our illustration. The colour of the
glaze is of the bluish tint of an egg, without a single
line of crackle over the whole surface. The en-
graved decoration is entirely copied from an original
saucer of carved cinnabar red lacquer. This is a
very congenial design for the reception-room to hold
a cup of tea, so that it is a most serviceable object
for occasional use. I found it at Wu-t'ang, where I
bought it in a shop.

' The Sung dynasty flourished a.d. 960-1279. The carved
cinnabar lac-work of the period was made in several parts of
China. Cf Bushell's Handbook of Chinese Art, vol. i, p. 121.

sc.

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SPXTION X

CONTAINING NINE ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 7r,-83|

FIGURE 75

HsuAN Yao of the Ming d^'nasty. Round
Box perforated through the middle, painted in
deep red.

The design of the box [ho), which is of
unique character, is an exact copy of an ordi-
nary copper cash of the reign of Hsiian-tO,
and it is perforated through the middle so
that it may be tied on the corner of a hand-
kerchief. The glaze is white, and the four-
character inscription Hsiian tc t'ling pao ' is
pencilled in red on the top of the cover,
making it a piece of exceptional interest.
The interior of the box is painted with two
flowers very beautifully executed. The por-
celain of the Hsuan-te era is all most artis-
tically decorated, and even such small pieces
as this little box were cunningly finished with
no careless hand, so that it is truly a gem
among small ornamental objects for the toilet
table. I am myself its fortunate owner at the
present time.

1 ' Current money of Hsuan-te.' a reproduction of
the legend inscribed on the copper coinage of the
reign, a.d. 1426-35.

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FIGURE 76

Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynasty. Round
Box for rouge decorated in enamel colours.

The box (ho) is very small and finely
finished in technique and design, the green
scrolls of the decoration contrasting charm-
ingly and effectively with the yellow ground.
It also originally came out of the imperial
palace, where it had been used by one of the
ladies of the court to hold cosmetics for paint-
ing her fair lips and cheeks. The intricate
floral decoration is artistically executed, crisply
and clearly defined without any blending of
the colours, making it another choice specimen
of ceramic art. It might be used very well
as a casket for scented tea, for betel nuts, or
for perfumes prepared from the arum plant.
This is another of the old pieces in my own
cabinet.

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FIGURE 77

HstJAN Yao of the Mino; dynasty. Relic Pagoda painted in five colours.

The pagoda {fn) measures a Chinese foot and a half in height and has seven stories.
Each story is six-sided, surrounded by a carved open-work railing, and hollow inside. Fn
the first story there is an altar, with a little vase of white jade about an inch high standing
upon it, containing three grains of sacred relics ' of the Buddha. The seven stories are all
hung round the eaves with tiny gold bells only half an inch long. Within the chamber of
the fifth story there is enshrined a little jade "Huddha, about eight-tenths of an inch high,
carved with fine features and dignified pose, and enthroned on a lotus pedestal, exactly like
the canonical images of the compassionate one^ worshipped in ordinary religious temples.
This Buddha, the temple bonze assures me, was brought from a foreign country as an
offering to the emperor. The structure of the pagoda is modelled in porcelain, and the

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polychrome enamels of different colour are cleverly painted on in their turn, the tiles coloured
emerald-green, the railings red, the walls white, and the windows yellow. The sacred relics
emit every day at noon and midnight a radiant halo of many-coloured rays. I have actually
seen light proceed from them on two occasions, and been convinced myself thereby ol the
deep mysteries of the Buddhist faith. 1 saw the pagoda at the southern capital in the Pao
en ssi:i,-*"in the apartments of the official prior of the monastery, who told me that it had been
presented by the palace authorities in the Lung-ch'ing ' reign to the Empress Dowager, who
forthwith issLied a decree that it should be bestowed upon this temple to be preserved here
and reverently worshipped.

> In Chinese s/it'-Zi, transliteration of Sanskrit sarira. • Avalokitcsvara. Kuan Yin of Chinese Buddhists.

' The Buddhist temple containing the famous porcelain towerat Nanking, which was destroyed during the Taipins
rebellion, about the middle of the nineteenth century. Our pagoda is an exact model, in inmiatiirc. of the
famous tower. The inscription pencilled on its base in blue is 7Vj Mi\i: Hsiiaii tr iiirii chili, i.e. 'Made in the
reign of Hsuan-te (.\. d. 1426-35) of the Great Ming (dynasty).'

* The emperor Lung-ch'ing reigned a. d. 1567-72.

FIGURE 78

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Chun Yao of the Sung dynasty. Dragon Oil
Lamp.

The form of the lamp {fcno'] is most quaint, and
it is one Chinese foot and a third or so ^ high. It
is fashioned in the shape of a grotesque hornless
dragon with its body coiled round in a ring, instinct
with life from head to tail, alarming and awe-inspir-
ing. The colour of the glaze is a purplish blue of the
shade of bulrush heads in autumn. The body is
hollowed out in the interior to hold the oil, and the
wick protrudes from the mouth of the dragon, so
that when lighted the flame may illuminate the whole
room. It is really a most rare object. I have
figured it from the collection of my wife's kinsman
Li Tzu-kao.

' One foot three-tenths and six-hundredths in the text. The
Chinese foot is equivalent to about 13 inches of our measure.

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Lung-ch'Uan Yau of the Sung dynasty. Oil
Lamp with a branched pedestal supported by
a clawed foot.

The lamp (teitg) is fashioned after the model of
an archaic bronze design. The colour of the glaze
is green, of the tint of fresh onion-sprouts. The
form is quaint and archaic in its lines, and when the
saucer-like receptacle is filled with vegetable oil, the
flaming wick lights up the whole room, so that with
its help one can read in the library at night. Its
acquisition would be a real boon, only its like is rarely
to be seen in the present day. I have taken it from
the collection of our fellow citizen P'an Tzu-ming,
Member of the Imperial Academy.

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FIGURE 80

Cheng-t£ Yao of the Ming dynasty. Saucer-
shaped Lamp with projecting handle supported b}'
phoenix and tortoise.

The form of the lamp iteng) was copied from the
figure of a bronze lamp in the K'ao kti f'li} The
colour of the glaze is a pure yellow, of the rich tint
of steamed chestnuts. The outlines of the phoenix
and tortoise are boldly modelled with wings out-
spread and firmly planted feet, another design for
a lamp of uncommon merit. On one side of the
receptacle there is a projecting handle, by which the
lamp can be carried about from one place to another,
an adoption of the invention by His Excellency
Chu-ko - of ' travelling lamps ' handed down from
his time. I saw this one in the house of Chou
Liang-han, a Hsiu-ts'ai.^

' The Illustrated Examination of Antiquities of the eleventh
century cited under Fig. 3.

- Chu-ko Liang, a celebrated niilitarj' commander and states-
man, who lived A.D. 181-234. He was generally regarded as
a mechanical and mathematical genius and credited with many
discoveries and inventions.

' The first degree in the mandarinate, conferred after the
provincial examinations.

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Ch'eng Yao of the Ming dynast}-. Oil
Lamp in the form of a Nelumbium lotus
decorated in enamel colours.

The form of the lamp [teng) has been
fashioned from a design the source of which is
unknown ; its several dimensions are repro-
duced in our illustration. The glaze colours
display different shades of the enamel palette,
the red petals of the lotus and the greens of the
leaves being filled in with deeper and lighter
tints, after the style of the best water-colour
artists in their studies of nature. At the top
a large leaf spreads out horizontally to shield
the flame from draughts. The cup-like centre
of the lotus blossom is hollowed out to hold
the oil, which when lighted illuminates the
darkness of the night. The men of old
applied their mind to a careful finish of every
small detail, not like the workmen of the
present day who scamp the work in their
careless hurry. I saw this lamp at Wu-sung,
in the possession of Chu Tz'u-pu, a phj-sician
of the Imperial College of Peking.

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FIGURE 82

Ting Yao of the Sung dynasty. Pricket
Candlestick with phoenix and lotus blossom
details.

The candlestick [teiig), which is modelled
after a design the source of which is unknown,
is one Chinese foot and about two-thirds high.
The stem of the candlestick is surmounted
with a phoenix head, from the beak of which
hangs a ring chain with a lotus leaf suspended
on the chain. From the leaf springs a stem
which curves downwards and lifts up three
lotus blossoms, in the middle of which are the
prickets on which the candles are stuck. At
the base of the stem is a solid quadrangular
pedestal simulating scrolled clouds, giving
a firm support to prevent the structure
toppling over. It is a rare and choice design
for use on the library table, to light up
curios, books and pictures, as well as the
sacrificial vessels and dishes of the finest
collections, and it may be classified, to sum
up, as a select specimen of Ting-chou ware.
1 am fortunate in having this candlestick at
the present time in my own collection.

' One foot, six-tenths and five hundredths exactly,
equivalent to nearly twenty-two inches of our measure.

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HsiJAN Yao of the Ming dj'nasty. Oil
Lamp with four nozzles painted in blue with
white ground.

The four-burner lamp (feng) is fashioned
after some design of unknown source, its
several dimensions are identical with those
of our illustration. The colour of the glaze
is a lustrous white like hard mutton-fat, with
millet-like granules rising in faint relief. The
whole surface is decorated in blue with deli-
catel}^ pencilled designs of intricate pattern
and attractive beaut}'. From the body pro-
ject at regular intervals four nozzles for the
wicks. Above the lamp is a horizontal bar to
which the cover is chained, below there is
a saucer like a flat dish with an upright
border. When the bowl is filled with oil, the
wicks placed in the four nozzles, and the lamp
hung up in the middle of the room, its light
illuminates all the four seats round the table.
It is an object of remarkably fine style for use
in a scholar's library. I purchased it mj-self
for a long price, and after my return home at
once hung it up in my own study.

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PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BY HORACE HART, M.A.

PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

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